Arbetets museum
Arbetets museum is a contemporary Swedish cultural institution in Norrköping that collects working-life memories and stories, serving families, school groups, adult visitors, and the national network of 1,500 working-life museums through free-admission exhibitions, education programs, and conference rentals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersNorrköping, Sweden
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Arbetets museum does
Arbetets museum is a contemporary cultural institution founded in 1991 in Norrköping, Sweden, operating from the historic Strykjärnet building — a 1916-1917 reinforced-concrete textile factory considered one of Sweden's finest industrial buildings. The museum distinguishes itself by collecting memories and personal narratives rather than physical objects, focused on Swedish working life and everyday life through a power-and-inequality lens. Its core products include permanent exhibitions (Alva about textile-factory life, Digitopia on digitalization and AI, Jobbcirkus and Jobblabb on career exploration, Lilla Arbetets for young children, Gömda spår and Magasinet), traveling exhibitions touring Swedish schools and workplaces, and digital exhibitions accessible online.
The business model is hybrid. Admission is free for all visitors; the museum is funded primarily through public grants from Norrköping Municipality, Region Östergötland and national sources (Vinnova, Forte/Svenska ESF-rådet, SKR), augmented by project-based co-financing from trade unions (Kommunal, IF Metall, Unionen), corporate partners (Holmen Paper, Siemens Energy, Toyota Material Handling), and academia (Linköping University). Earned revenue comes from conference and venue rentals (14–160 attendees), a museum shop selling Scandinavian design products, and on-site food and beverage (Brödernas Kafé, Restaurant VY). The museum also plays a national-support role for Sweden's roughly 1,500 working-life museums, providing courses, networking, digitization support, and funding-administration services.
Customer segments span families with children, school and preschool groups from across Östergötland, adult cultural tourists, conference and event organizers, and the 1,500-member working-life museum network. Reach is multi-channel: physical visits in Norrköping, traveling exhibitions nationwide, digital exhibitions globally, and outbound programming in partnership with municipalities, unions, and research institutions.
Arbetets museum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Arbetets museum
- Legal name
- Arbetets museum
- Website
- https://arbetetsmuseum.se
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Arbetets museum is a contemporary Swedish cultural institution in Norrköping that collects working-life memories and stories, serving families, school groups, adult visitors, and the national network of 1,500 working-life museums through free-admission exhibitions, education programs, and conference rentals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Arbetets museum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Museum Services
- NAICS
- Museums (71211), Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- History Museums (THAJADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)
Keywords
Where Arbetets museum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Norrköping
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Arbetets museum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Government funding: Municipal and regional government funding from Norrköping Municipality, Region Östergötland and national sources
- Conference and venue rental: Rental of conference facilities for meetings, lectures and seminars - venues accommodate 14 to 160 persons
- Museum shop: Scandinavian design products with sustainability focus sold through the museum boutique
- Café and restaurant: Brödernas Kafé on ground floor and VY restaurant operating within the museum premises
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | Free museum admission |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Arbetets museum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Arbetets museum is a contemporary cultural museum in Norrköping that collects and presents stories and memories about Swedish working life and everyday life through permanent, temporary, traveling and digital exhibitions. It supplements exhibitions with school and preschool educational programs, conference venue rentals, a museum shop, café and restaurant services, and national support programs for Sweden's network of working life museums.
Product overview
Arbetets museum is a contemporary museum focused on work life and everyday life, operating as a single unified museum experience. The museum collects memories and narratives rather than objects, with people's stories at the heart of its exhibitions. The core offerings include permanent exhibitions (Alva, Digitopia, Jobbcirkus, Jobblabb, Lilla Arbetets), traveling exhibitions, digital exhibitions, and conference facilities. The museum also operates a café, restaurant, and museum shop, and provides support for Sweden's network of approximately 1500 working life museums.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lilla Arbetets: A play and learning environment for children up to 6 years, located on the ground floor.
- Jobblabb
- Jobbcirkus
- Digitopia
- Dokfotosalongen
- Brödernas Kafé
- Restaurang VY
Products and services
- Lilla Arbetets A permanent play and learning environment on the museum's ground floor for children up to age 6, focused on work and everyday life themes.
- Jobblabb Interactive exhibition with lab stations for grades 4-6 focused on career choices, self-esteem and exploration of professions.
- Jobbcirkus Permanent exhibition for upper-secondary school students providing tools and orientation for upper-secondary school choices.
- Digitopia Interactive exhibition exploring digitalization, AI, algorithms and robotics and their impact on work, daily life, healthcare and surveillance.
- Alva – arbetarminnen från Strykjärnet New permanent exhibition telling textile worker Alva Carlsson's story and other workers' memories at the Strykjärnet factory from 1927 to 1962.
- Conference Facilities Conference and meeting venue rental in the historic Strykjärnet building, accommodating 14 to 160 people with on-site catering and activity options.
- Museum Shop On-site museum shop selling Scandinavian design products with a sustainability focus.
- Café and Restaurant (Brödernas Kafé and Restaurang VY) On-site café (Brödernas Kafé) and restaurant (Restaurang VY) offering coffee, pastries, lighter dishes, lunch and dinner with views over Norrköping.
- Traveling Exhibitions Traveling exhibitions that tour schools, libraries, museums, public authorities and workplaces across Sweden.
- Digital Exhibitions Online-accessible digital exhibitions with audio, images and text drawn from the museum's collected stories and interviews.
- School and Preschool Programs Bookable educational programs for schools and preschools covering work life, society and technology, including guided tours and workshops.
- Support for Sweden's Working Life Museums National support services for approximately 1500 working life museums in Sweden, including courses, networking, funding facilitation and digitization support.
Companies that use Arbetets museum
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Arbetets museum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Arbetets museum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.
- FotografernacoreProfessional photography organization (yrkesorganisationen Fotograferna) became co-organizer of the Dokfotosalong documentary photography exhibition starting from its 10th edition in 2026. The partnership strengthens the salong's role as a national arena for documentary photography.
- Municipalities in ÖstergötlandcoreCollaboration with municipalities including Linköping, Norrköping, Motala, Mjölby, Finspång, Söderköping, Åtvidaberg, Valdemarsvik, Boxholm, Vadstena, and Ödeshög for financing the Jobblabb exhibition and educational programs.
- VinnovacoreResearch funding agency that financed the Jobblabb exhibition focused on career guidance and skills awareness for middle school students.
- Region ÖstergötlandcoreRegional authority co-financing Jobblabb exhibition and collaborating on educational initiatives.
- Trade unions (Kommunal, IF Metall, Unionen)coreLabor organizations co-financing Jobblabb exhibition as part of their commitment to career guidance and understanding of working life.
- Linköping UniversitymoderateAcademic institution collaborating with Arbetets museum on Jobblabb exhibition development.
- Holmen Paper ABmoderateCompany co-financing Jobblabb exhibition as part of corporate social responsibility engagement.
- Siemens EnergymoderateTechnology company co-financing Jobblabb exhibition.
- Toyota Material HandlingmoderateCompany co-financing Jobblabb exhibition as part of engagement with working life education.
- Forte/Svenska ESF-rådetcoreResearch council co-financing Digitopia exhibition along with Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR).
- Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner (SKR)coreNational organization for Swedish municipalities and regions co-financing Digitopia exhibition.
- Länsstyrelsen i ÖstergötlandcoreCounty administrative board co-financing Jobblabb exhibition for career guidance in schools.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Arbetets museum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nordiska museet: Sweden's largest cultural history museum, also telling the story of Swedish life and everyday history. Directly comparable as a Swedish heritage museum with similar exhibitions, family programs, and public funding model.
- Historiska museet (Swedish History Museum): National museum covering Swedish history from the Viking age to modern day. Comparable as a publicly funded history museum focused on Swedish narrative, exhibitions, and educational programs.
- Tekniska museet (National Museum of Science and Technology): Sweden's science and technology museum, with exhibitions on digitalization, AI, and the future of work that directly overlap with Arbetets museum's Digitopia offering. Both target families and school groups with interactive learning.
- Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Culture): Swedish museum focused on contemporary cultural and social issues from a global perspective. Comparable thematic focus on power, inequality, and modern social issues, with similar publicly funded, free-admission model.
- Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek (Labour Movement Archives and Library): Sweden's national archives for the labor movement. Highly comparable in mission — preserving working-class and labor history — and serves a closely aligned audience of researchers, educators, and the public.
- Sjöhistoriska museet (Maritime Museum): Sweden's maritime and shipbuilding history museum. Comparable as a publicly funded specialty history museum with similar family programming, café/shop, and conference venue operations.
- Scenkonstmuseet (Museum of Performing Arts): Swedish museum focused on performing arts history. Comparable as a publicly funded Swedish museum with similar exhibition-based model, educational programs, and events-driven visitor engagement.
Emerging players
- The Workers' Museum (London): International peer dedicated to telling the story of working people in Britain. Direct conceptual analog as a labor-history-focused museum with story-driven exhibitions, offering a benchmark for internationalization potential.
Broad incumbents
- Moderna museet (Museum of Modern Art): Sweden's national museum of modern and contemporary art. Comparable as a major Stockholm-based publicly funded museum with strong public programming, though with a different thematic focus.
Regional players
- Norrköpings stadsmuseum: Local history museum for the city of Norrköping. Comparable as a regional history museum in the same city, sharing visitor base, school program demand, and local government funding sources.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Arbetets museum social profiles
Digital presenceArbetets museum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Arbetets museum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Arbetets museum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Arbetets museum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Arbetets museum
What does Arbetets museum do?
Arbetets museum is a contemporary cultural museum in Norrköping that collects and presents stories and memories about Swedish working life and everyday life through permanent, temporary, traveling and digital exhibitions. It supplements exhibitions with school and preschool educational programs, conference venue rentals, a museum shop, café and restaurant services, and national support programs for Sweden's network of working life museums.
Is Arbetets museum a public or private company?
Arbetets museum is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Arbetets museum founded?
Arbetets museum was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Arbetets museum based?
Arbetets museum is headquartered in Norrköping, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Arbetets museum make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Government funding is the primary driver. The others are conference and venue rental, museum shop and café and restaurant.
Who are Arbetets museum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nordiska museet, Historiska museet (Swedish History Museum), Tekniska museet (National Museum of Science and Technology), Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Culture), Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek (Labour Movement Archives and Library), Sjöhistoriska museet (Maritime Museum) and Scenkonstmuseet (Museum of Performing Arts). The Workers' Museum (London) is listed as an emerging player. Moderna museet (Museum of Modern Art) is listed as a broad incumbent. Norrköpings stadsmuseum is listed as a regional player.
Does Arbetets museum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Arbetets museum.
What industry is Arbetets museum in?
Arbetets museum's product category is Cultural Museum Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAB, History Museums, with a secondary code of THAJADAF, Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film). Its NAICS code is 71211 and its SIC code is 7900.