Several buildings lit up in red to draw attention to Norway’s struggling culture industry

The red lights were lit as a danger signal to warn that the Norwegian culture industry needs help in order to get through the period of coronavirus restrictions.

CultureVictoria Garza1. October 2020

Several buildings lit up in red to draw attention to Norway’s struggling culture industry — The Opera in Oslo. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB

More than 100 cultural buildings and monuments in Norway were lit up in red on Wednesday night.

The red lights were lit as a danger signal to warn that the Norwegian culture and the event industry needs help in order to get through the period of coronavirus restrictions.

Buildings such as the Opera house, the National Theater, the Deichman Library, and the Munch Museum in Oslo were lit up in red.

The same was the case for numerous cultural buildings in towns and villages nationwide.

Red alert

“The danger level is at red,” chairman of the board of GramArt Ivar S. Peersen declared in front of the Norwegian parliament (Storting) on Wednesday.

He also said that the government wanted to abolish the compensation scheme for the industry’s self-employed from November 1.

Lighting designer Magnus Boyd, who provided the initiative for the campaign, pointed out that 75% of Norway’s sound and lighting technicians are self-employed.

They risk losing “almost all income” if the compensation scheme is abolished, Boyd noted.

Several buildings lit up in red to draw attention to Norway’s struggling culture industry

Red alert

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