Since its startup in 2005, ROM has been situated in Maridalsveien 3 in Oslo. Following the renovation of the old parking facility in the premises of the former NORA factory, two galleries, Galleri ROM (founded in 1987) and Institutt for Romkunst (founded in 1988), merged to become an interdisciplinary meeting place for the intersection of the fields of art and architecture. Five associations initiated the merge: The Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts, The Association of Norwegian Visual Artists, National Association of Norwegian Architects, and The Norwegian Association of Interior Architects and Furniture Designers. Henrik der Minassian was ROM’s director from the startup in 2005 until 2019, when our current director, Gjertrud Steinsvåg, was appointed.

“In a field that plans and builds for everyone, it is evident to question who has the power of definition, which voices are included and which ones are excluded,” wrote our former colleague Tina Lam in the text “From the other Norwegians”, published by us in June 2020. This text became the starting point for our critical focus on issues of representation and the power of definition. In order to strengthen the importance, understanding, and experience of architecture, place making and art, we continued with a series of “Open Calls” addressed to an interdisciplinary field. To us, diversity includes both making space for groups and perspectives that historically have been excluded, but also working towards making sure that a professional field is representative of the societal body at large. A diverse range of perspectives and experiences creates a broader critical sphere. This is crucial to the progression of art, architecture, placemaking, and public space, and is necessary to contest established perceptions of how art and architecture impact our lives, as well as who is being impacted. How can, for instance, the disabled body represent innovation and contribute with crucial perspectives on what fundamental and adequate spatial conditions mean? Can we transgress the perception of the disabled body as a mere technical and juridical entity in architecture and urban planning? Can we envision buildings and communities with the disabled body as a starting point?

ROM is dedicated to acting with generosity in relation to ourselves, our collaborators, and our visitors. We perceive generosity to be a professional asset in which knowledge sharing, exploration, and curiosity serve as key elements in sustaining interdisciplinary relations between the fields of art, architecture, placemaking, and public space. Our mandate is to bring together practices and methods from different traditions and disciplines in order to expand perspectives and create new synergies. Simultaneously, we focus on the importance of contesting dominant perceptions of exhibitions, artworks, and texts being self-enclosed endpoints.