Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland inspires a new generation of budding artists in fun social media campaign

A month into the campaign, more than 400 contributions have already been received for #InspiredbyVigeland, Kulturetaten's social media campaign to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Vigeland, Norway's most famous sculptor.

There has been a lot of interest from both Norway and abroad, with about half of the contributions from countries in Europe but also from Russia, Chile, the USA, China and South Africa. 

A variety of expressions

Both amateurs and professional artists have submitted entries, in a multitude of genres, including digital art, drawing, painting, poetry, photography, street art and much more. And they have shown plenty of imagination in doing so! From Star Wars to tattoos, from an angry boy made of brown cheese to an animated juggling skeleton - people have been inspired in very many different ways.

And that's great, says Marie Peyre, project manager for the campaign, whose main goal is to reach a new, younger audience by connecting Vigeland's art to their interests. 

Illustration: Rafael Varona

Art, parkour and karaoke

'Who would have thought we could connect Vigeland to skate boarding, manga, parkour, karaoke, and yes, even fried sausages? Humor is an important element of the campaign. Here it is for once OK to have fun with art. What is important for us is that people discover Vigeland's art. And to be inspired, one must of course first look at the original - then much of the job is done.', explains Marie Peyre.

The contributions show the breadth of Vigeland's art, not just the sculptures in the park, but earlier statues and other works, such as his monuments and his busts, as well as his woodcuts, wrought iron work and the park itself.

Vigeland anno 2019

'The campaign shows that Gustav Vigeland's art is still very relevant to many and that Vigeland continues to inspire in 2019. We are very pleased with that'.

The #InspiredbyVigeland campaign is a collaboration between Kulturetaten, the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Vigeland Museum in Oslo.

You can see the best entries so far on Kulturetaten's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/kulturetaten/

Or join yourself using the hashtag #InspiredbyVigeland and #Vigeland150

More information on the Vigeland jubilee here: https://vigeland.museum.no/aktuelt/jubileumsprogrammet-2019