Nei til Ringnes Kvinnepark! Looking for Norwegian identities in protests against building the Ekeberg Sculpture Park in Oslo.

Abstract

The following study is an analysis of the media debate around building the Ekebergpark in Oslo. The goal of this paper was to establish what this debate can tell us about modern Norwegian society. It will be demonstrated that some assumptions behind the Ekebergpark were clearly (even if unintentionally) aimed against certain components of Norwegian identity and thus caused protests to escalate. In order to investigate those components, critical opinions about the park were examined in a historical and social context. Protests against the Ekebergpark could be seen as a manifestation of the integrity and values embraced by the Norwegian nation. Upon examination of the debate, it becomes clear that the discussion gave voice to what is important for Norwegians today, what was important in the past, how certain values are a continuity of previous experiences, and what lies in the hope for the future.