Hartvig Nissen School has undergone an extensive rehabilitation and expansion with two new buildings. This historic high school, founded in 1849, has a rich cultural heritage and was Norway's first institution of higher education for women. As part of the upgrade, both existing and newly acquired art from the Oslo Municipality's art collection will be placed at the school. Three female artists were invited to compete in creating a new artworks for the school. The winner of the competition was Andrea Scholze with the proposal titled 'View towards the Future', which involves several bronze sculptures placed at various locations in the schoolyard. The sculptures are intended to symbolize the school's history and cultural diversity.

"Andrea Scholze's winning proposal resonates well with the existing art at Hartvig Nissen School. Her ape-like, yet human-like figures, are in a way unfinished, like young individuals, yet they exude a sense of security and warmth, inviting one to lean in towards them as a friend," says school principal Hanna Norum.

Learn more about the project (in Norwegian)

Andrea Scholze (b. 1988, Oslo) is educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (BFA, 2011, MFA, 2016).

Scholze works sculpturally and on installation pieces, primarily using ceramics. Her works are roughly modelled with an expressive, often bleak look. She creates scenographic installations of often dystopian landscapes where her individual sculptures of human-like species often looking more like trolls, golems or yetis, channel emotions and tell stories. She is interested in how both animals and humas exist together in today’s society and themes such as loneliness, existentialism and belonging are apparent in many of her sculptures.

Scholze’s talent has been recognized by the Norwegian establishment and her work has been acquired by the KODE museums in Bergen (NO), the National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Trondheim (NO), Kunstilo (NO), Equinor Art Programme (NO), KORO (Art in Public, Norway) and Oslo Municipality Art Collection (NO).