The establishment of Ekebergparken

An interview with Dagbladet from 2003 marks the first time Ringnes publicly expressed his desire to establish a sculpture park at Ekeberg, at that time “in praise of women”. Carried away with excitement, he had already established a foundation and acquired several artworks, by amongst others, Knut Steen, Per Ung and Kirsten Kokkin for the imagined park (Eide, 2003). 

There were strong reactions from both the art scene and nature conservationists. The public conversation around the creation of the sculpture park rose to high temperature early on. The discussion centred around the question of who should have the power to decide which artworks would be placed in public areas. 

The criticism and resistance that followed, characterised the project’s progress in the years that lead up to the opening of the park in 2013. Concern around the potential destruction of nature, the private initiative, and the feminine theme, were particularly hot topics. The plan to implement an economically robust foundation, an art committee and extensive regulation of the area under the guidance of public entities in collaboration with the foundation, did not reach out to people in general, even though it was often stipulated in the media (Balas & Ringnes, 2009). 

As the battle raged on, Ringnes commented that he realised with hindsight that his statement about a park “in praise of women” probably wasn’t the best wording. This statement especially, issued in the heat of the moment, had been one of the elements that contributed to fanning the flames. Christian Ringnes was quoted in Aftenposten on May 4th, 2007: 

“I’d say the phrasing was a bit unfortunate at the start when I talked about a sculpture park in praise of women. I went a bit overboard. I’ve since had help from the council, amongst others, to expand the concept. A natural landscape inspired by the feminine, is more accurate in terms of what we’re trying to create”. 

On 24 August 2011 the sculpture park at Ekeberg was finally made official by decree of the City Council with a large majority. The agreement that was made between the council and the foundation was the result of a process that had taken several years and there was no doubt that the debate contributed to shaping, adjusting, and improving the result. In the regulation plan that was made during the preparatory work together with the landscape architects, the municipality and the foundation, it was decided that up to eighty sculptures could be placed in the area, of which several should be site specific. In addition, the cultural heritage and archaeological findings done in the area became part of the park. The buildings that were on the old Karlsborg property were to be restored and transformed into a café and exhibition space for the public. The old water reservoir would be made into an artwork. The agreement stipulated a sum of NOK 300 million, equally divided between acquiring sculptures, establishing and developing the park, and a fund for management and maintenance. The municipality and the foundation were to appoint an art committee to delve into the theme of the park and make a selection from the sculptures Ringnes had already bought. They ended up rejecting two thirds of the sculptures that were already acquired (Hagen, 2011). 

Even though several referendums in the media revealed that Oslo’s population in general were very positive to the sculpture park, the public protests at the City Hall the day the park was announced were loud and visible. And the protests didn’t die down in the two-year period leading up to the completion of the park. Official complaints were sent to the County Governor of Oslo, to the Regulatory Department for Public Acquisitions, and to the Ministry of Climate and Environment. One movement, Folkeaksjonen, pressed charges against Oslo City Council for corruption. Some tried to physically obstruct the work in the park. On a more humorous note, a cartoon was published in Aftenposten, and several caricatures reached the papers, one in which Christian Ringnes was portrayed naked in a yoga posture, and the rock band Black Debbath issued a ballad with the title “No to the wanking path at Ekeberg”. 

The Ekeberg Park officially opened on 26th September 2013. Around fifty representatives from the Norwegian and international press attended. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Ekebergparken has since figured in many listings of the best sculpture parks in the world. 

The result is a sculpture park where art, history, and nature are unified in an exciting way that keeps evolving. The natural environment and cultural heritage at Ekeberg create the framework for how and where the sculptures are placed. Ekebergparken has been described as an organic, feminine counterpart to Oslo’s other large sculpture park, the Vigeland Park. Architecture historian Thomas Thiis-Evensen explains; 

“The two parks are extremely different. One is geometrical, while the other is organic (...) where the axis of the Vigeland Park dominates the nature, the paths of the Ekeberg Park become subject to nature” and “Both the Vigeland Park and the Ekeberg Sculpture Park have their role models. The first is from Versailles and the Baroque idea that a landscape can be imposed upon, while the other is in line with the English garden where the landscape is free” (Thiis-Evensen, 2011).