Activists tried to glue themselves to Munch’s “Scream” at the National Museum

The campaigners did not manage to damage the work. Three foreign female activists were arrested by the police. – We do whatever it takes to get as much money as possible, says a representative of the campaigners.

– There were two campaigners who were inside and tried to attack “Scream”. They were discovered and stopped by our people. No damage occurred, Ole-Morten Fadnes, press contact at the museum, tells Aftenposten.

The incident is said to have happened around 12:30. He says that the police are on the scene and that the incident will be reported. It is supposed to be about two campaigners who tried to carry out the vandalism. A third person must have taken pictures and filmed.

Three women from Denmark, Finland and Germany have been arrested, the police say. The two who carried out the actual action were student Lena Mair (24) and Kristiina Visakorpi (33), who is a post-doc at NTNU. The third woman is in her 20s.

During the action, the campaigners are said to have shouted messages, according to NTB:

– I scream when people die, shouted one.

– I scream when the politicians ignore science, shouted the other.

Charged with serious damage

All three are now in police custody.

– We are at the National Museum following a report from security guards that they have control of three people who tried to attach themselves to Skrik. We have them under control, and there is no damage to the painting, says operations manager Rune Hekkelstrand in the Oslo police district to NTB.

The police sign https://twitter.com/oslopolitiops/status/1591028564392312832 that there should be glue residue on the glass mount.

At 1 p.m., the Munch Room was open to the public again.

– The three are charged with serious damage. They are still under arrest and will be questioned on Saturday, says police prosecutor Gard Busterud in the Oslo police district shortly before 5 p.m.

– Video of the incident will be obtained, he adds.

The police are also working to find out what kind of connection they have to Norway.

– It is the symbolic effect

It was the environmental organization Stopp oljeletinga, an offshoot of the activist group Extinction Rebellion, that was behind it. It was the journal Tidens ånd arrow-outward-link which first mentioned the affiliation of the campaigners.

Stopp oljeletinga writes in a press release that they have two demands on the government:

1. That they declare an immediate halt to all further exploration for new oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf.
2. That they put forward a concrete plan for a fair transition for today’s oil workers.

Astrid Rem speaks on behalf of the campaigners afterwards. She herself has taken part in several actions in the traffic to create queues – She has been arrested six times this year, according to herself.

– Why do you resort to this form of action? What does oil exploration have to do with “Scream”?

– All of us who deal with this have been active in the “kind” ways of exerting influence in the past, both in politics and environmental organisations. But the kind and approved ways of influencing do not lead. We don’t have time to wait. So now we have become troublesome.

– But why “Scream”?

– Because it is Norway’s most famous painting. We have nothing against art or Art Norway. But part of the problem is that our actions have not received enough attention. We do whatever it takes to get the most bang for your buck.

– Was the aim to harm “Scream”?

– No. We did not intend to harm “Scream”. If the art had been damaged, the campaigners behind it would have had to pay millions in claims. We don’t want that, there are many poor students among us.

– Are the campaigners prepared for a possible prison sentence?

– Yes, they are. We are part of a larger network and have familiarized ourselves with the consequences in advance.

– Are you planning any new campaigns in the near future?

– Yes. We do.

Anja Bakken Riise, leader of the environmental organization Framtiden i våre hände, writes in an SMS to Aftenposten that she understands the campaigners’ frustration.

– Right now our livelihood is being destroyed, without the politicians taking sufficient action, she writes.

– Do you want to condemn the form of action they choose?

– No, I will not condemn this, although I would not choose the same form of action myself. Is the representation of life in the form of art more important than life itself? That is what these activists desperately challenge us to do.

– Unacceptable

Culture and Equality Minister Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) describes the action as an “unacceptable form of action” towards NTB.

Silje Hjemdal, Frp’s cultural policy spokesperson, is strongly critical of the incident.

– Norway is one of the world’s freest countries where everyone has the opportunity to participate in democracy and the public debate. The fact that someone feels entitled to commit damage in order to focus on their case is serious, she says and continues:

– Where does the limit eventually go for what some people think is a good enough cause to damage other people’s property and perhaps people? This is unacceptable and I hope those responsible are held accountable and have to make up for the mess and extra costs the museum incurs because of this.

Tightened security over the weekend

Several similar actions against famous paintings have taken place elsewhere in Europe in recent weeks.

Last weekend, Aftenposten wrote that the National Museum is raising security after several climate activists have recently thrown liquid dishes at irreplaceable art, or campaigned in other ways that damage the art.

On Friday last week, Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Sower” was smeared with pea soup at an exhibition in Rome.

And on Saturday, two activists were arrested after they glued their hands to the frames of Francisco Goya paintings at the Prado Museum in Madrid.