Gallery ROM was founded in 1987 by architects Øyvind Mo, Lars Erik Nordland, Martin Roubik, Evelyne Anderson, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, landscape architect Alf Haukeland, and photographer Jiri Havran. Their vision was to establish a gallery that challenged and broadened the traditional boundaries of architecture in Norway. The gallery was run as a self-directed foundation and was largely supported by a friends’ association made up of local architecture firms, as well as through collaborations with embassies and the Oslo Architects’ Association.

From the outset, the goal of Gallery ROM was to present work and ideas that broke away from the norms in architecture, and to explore the relationship between architecture and other forms of art. An important goal was to introduce the architectural avant-garde to the “Norwegian evenness” and to question the dominant criteria for architectural aesthetics. In its early years, the gallery was situated in a wooden villa on Professor Dahls gate, with 150 square meters of exhibition space spread across four rooms on two floors. The opening exhibition on 4 March 1987 presented drawings and models by architects Peter Cook and Christine Hawley, as well as the work of their students at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main.

In its early years, the gallery held a range of meaningful exhibitions, including work by Daniel Libeskind, Peter Eisenman, Itsuo Hasegawa, Diller/Scofidio, and John Hejduk. The gallery also placed focus on young Norwegian architects through the exhibition Pelican in 1988. During this period, the Norwegian architecture field was changing, shaped by a booming economy and a generational shift that enabled the founding of many small architecture offices. Gallery ROM played an important role as a platform for this new generation of architects, and several of the gallery’s initiators were also among the founders of the well-known architectural firm Snøhetta, established the same year as the gallery.

Institutt for Romkunst was established in 1989 as an independent foundation by the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), Statens håndverk- og kunstskole, Kunstakademiet (SHKS), Norske Arkitekters landsforbund (NAL), Norske billedkunstnere (NBK), and Norske kunsthåndverkere (NK). Several dedicated individuals and key figures from these institutions played central roles, such as Odd Østbye, Geir Stormoen, Per Kleiva, and Irma Salo Jæger. Mette l’Orange became involved early on and led the institution for several years. The institute was originally established as a three-year trial period, financed by the Arts Council of Norway. During this time, the institute organised a wide range of courses, workshops, and lectures.

The foundation aimed to carry out interdisciplinary project work, teaching, and research around the concept of “spatial art”, including the use of colour, environment, and decoration. During the first years, the institute occupied a basement space in Fredensborgveien 11, but later moved to St Olav's place 2. After the trial period, the foundation was funded by educational institutions and the Ministry of Culture. The Institute for Spatial Art self-initiated research projects and worked closely with both Gallery ROM and other cultural institutions, such as Norsk Form (later DOGA).

Gallery ROM closed in 1989, but was revived in November 1991 with new initiators and in new premises in St Olavs Plass 2, where the Institutt for Romkunst later moved in. The new phase for the gallery involved a larger emphasis on Norwegian architecture, as well as collaborations with AHO and Bergen Architecture School, which regularly held their graduation exhibitions at the gallery. The gallery hosted several significant exhibitions, with prominent architects Jan Olav Jensen, Steven Holl, Lebbeus Woods, and Helen & Hard exhibiting their work there early on.

A shared location with the Institut for Romkunst created opportunities for several collaborative projects. The exhibition Colours in Oslo, which opened in February 1992, was the first joint project between the two institutions, with Gallery ROM serving as a showroom for the project initiated by the Institutt for Romkunst . In addition, both institutions contributed to important debates in the 1990s on aesthetic quality in public environments, with their work influencing both action programs and reports from the Cultural Ministry.

In 1999, a proposal was made to merge the Decoration Fund, Norsk Form, RAM Gallery, Institutt for Romkunst , and Gallery ROM. After several consultations, it was decided that Institutt for Romkunst and Gallery ROM would be merged, a process that took place from 2004 until 2005, when ROM for Art and Architecture opened at Maridalsveien 3.

Henrik der Minassian was the first director of this institution. He wrote in his welcome text for the opening exhibition Darkroom that “ROM shall operate as a cultural laboratory”. With this vision as a guide, ROM continued to build new, multidisciplinary networks and relationships between artists and architects, both in Norway and internationally. The program included exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, and an array of events, all of which had the goal of exploring spatial thinking in practice. The formal legal establishment of the foundation ROM for kunst og arkitektur took place in 2008, providing a sustainable framework for its continued activities.

Today, ROM continues the work of the experimental legacy of Gallery ROM and Institutt for Romkunst by using art, architecture, urban development, and public space as tools to explore the world. Through diverse programs and formats, we aspire to not just show finished work but to serve as an open assembly place where work processes, collaboration, disagreements, and questions of authority are central. A key focus is to highlight the methods of architects and artists.

At its core, ROM is multidisciplinary, with an open and generous approach to what art, architecture, urban development, and public space can be — and this is what we will continue to pursue.