Museum of Children´s Art

The International Museum of Children´s Art in Oslo, Norway is a pioneer institution, being the world´s first full scale Museum of Child Art. Today, the museum´s art collection contains art works by children and young from more than 180 countries.

The Museum was established in 1986 by The Foundation of Children's History, Art and Culture. Film director Rafael Goldin (1920-1994) and his wife, Doctor of Medicine, Alla Goldin (1938-2007), have conceived and developed the idea of this unique Museum and collection.

At Lille Frøens vei in Oslo you can see the world through children's eyes and understand how children's art is a bearer of aesthetic values. The Museum regards children's art as a living part of folk art and also as an important element in our national and universal culture. The children's own opinion and concerns are presented through changing thematic exhibitions, carefully chosen with the same demands for quality as in an adults art museum.

The main goal is to promote «the Rights of the Child» and in the future also serve as a research centre for the study of the history, art and culture of the child. The museum is beneficial to children as well as to adults and the collection is intended as a source of inspiration to both children and adults - including artists, pedagogues, researchers and politicians. Our longterm efforts are to develop appreciation of the value of children's art and culture represent, at the same time, a struggle to protect the rights of the child. The right to have and preserve a culture of one's own is an accepted principle, when referring to nations or segments of the population. In addition to aesthetic qualities, the Museum contributes to provide a better understanding of children's visions and standards of value.

It is said that children are people. But, people do not exist without a culture. Children are people who belong to the future. And they have the right to their own culture, their own art and history. - Founder & Film director Rafael Goldin (1920-1994)