Astrup Fearnley Museet

What Astrup Fearnley Museet does

Astrup Fearnley Museet is a private contemporary art museum founded in 1993 and operated as a Norwegian limited company (Astrup Fearnley Museet AS). The museum is housed in a Renzo Piano-designed building on the Oslofjord in the Tjuvholmen neighborhood of central Oslo, with two structures bisected by a canal. It holds the Astrup Fearnley Collection, one of Europe's most comprehensive collections of international contemporary art dating to the 1960s, featuring works by artists such as Matthew Barney, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, and Wolfgang Tillmans, and stages rotating exhibitions alongside its permanent collection displays.

The museum generates revenue through four streams: ticket sales (transactional), annual memberships (Kunstklubb, subscription), museum shop and webshop sales of merchandise, publications, posters, and the exclusive (CON)TEMPORARY branded line (priced kr 40–1,600), and event hire/educational programs including guided tours, Kunstprat talks, and Tegnelabben workshops for teenagers. Its go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer via physical attendance at the Oslo location, supplemented by e-commerce with international shipping and outreach to school groups.

The museum is funded by a mix of institutional and family-foundation support — the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality, Foundation Thomas Fearnley Heddy and Nils Astrup, Foundation Hans Rasmus Astrup, and the Savings Bank Foundation DNB — along with corporate sponsorship from EGD Holding and The Thief hotel. It is governed by a board chaired by Anna Catharina Astrup and led operationally by Executive Director and Chief Curator Solveig Øvstebø. Key stakeholders comprise visiting members of the public, school groups, dedicated art-club members, and rights partners such as BONO (the Norwegian Visual Artists Copyright Society).

Name

Astrup Fearnley Museet

Legal name

Astrup Fearnley Museet AS

Website

https://afmuseet.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Astrup Fearnley Museet is a private Norwegian contemporary art museum in Oslo, founded in 1993, housing the Astrup Fearnley Collection and serving visitors through exhibitions, educational programs, memberships, and a global webshop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Art Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Art Dealers (459920)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Contemporary art museum
• Art exhibitions
• Museum membership
• Educational programs
• Museum retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales: Revenue from admission tickets to exhibitions and the museum
2. Museum membership: Annual membership subscriptions providing free entrance to all exhibitions and events
3. Museum shop and merchandise: Sales of art prints, publications, exhibition catalogues, merchandise including apparel, bags, accessories, and gifts through physical shop and online webshop
4. Event hire and programs: Revenue from educational programs, workshops, curator-led tours and special events

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Astrup Fearnley Museet operates a contemporary art museum in Oslo, Norway, exhibiting rotating shows and the permanent Astrup Fearnley Collection spanning works from the 1960s to present. It sells admission tickets, annual memberships providing free exhibition access, operates a physical museum shop and online webshop selling branded merchandise, publications, and art-related products, and delivers educational programs including guided tours, art talks, and workshops for schools and the public.

Product overview

Astrup Fearnley Museet is a contemporary art museum founded in 1993, offering a dual offering of physical museum experiences and e-commerce products. The museum operates rotating exhibitions and maintains the extensive Astrup Fearnley Collection spanning 1960s to present international contemporary art. The physical experience includes exhibitions, educational programs (guided tours, workshops, Kunstprat art talks), and a retail museum shop. The Nettbutikk (webshop) operates as a separate e-commerce platform offering multiple product categories: Art Bags featuring exhibition artwork, the exclusive (CON)TEMPORARY branded merchandise line (caps, mugs, bags, notebooks), Publications including exhibition catalogs and mini-catalogs of collection artists, Posters & Editions, Kids Products (Studio ROOF model kits, art supplies), and Gifts (homeware, puzzles). The museum also offers membership (Kunstklubb) providing free exhibition access and member-exclusive events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• (CON)TEMPORARY: Exclusive branded merchandise collection including caps, art bags, notebooks, wet towels, and HOT ceramics
• Astrup Fearnley Shop
• Astrup Fearnley Art Club

Products and services

• Astrup Fearnley Museet Exhibitions Rotating contemporary art exhibitions featuring international and Norwegian artists, including the Astrup Fearnley Collection spanning works from the 1960s to present, presented at the Renzo Piano-designed museum in Oslo.
• Astrup Fearnley Shop (Museum Retail Store) Physical museum retail store at the Oslo location offering art merchandise, exhibition-related products, and branded items to museum visitors.
• Nettbutikk (Webshop)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BONO (Billedkunst Opphavsrett i Norge)coreOthersNorwegian Visual Artists Copyright Society - licensing partner for reproduction rights of artworks in the collection and for website use

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art: Finnish modern and contemporary art museum with overlapping Nordic positioning, rotating exhibitions drawn from a permanent collection, and a comparable shop and event program.
• Moderna Museet: Stockholm's national museum of modern and contemporary art, a direct Nordic peer operating exhibitions, educational programs, a museum shop, and a membership model aimed at overlapping audiences with Astrup Fearnley.
• Henie Onstad Kunstsenter: Norway's leading private centre for modern and contemporary art, comparable in scale, governance model (foundation-supported), and Nordic curatorial positioning to Astrup Fearnley.
• ARKEN Museum of Modern Art: Danish contemporary art museum with a signature architect-designed building, comparable exhibition-and-shop-plus-membership revenue model, and a similar Nordic contemporary art audience.
• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: Denmark's leading museum of modern and contemporary art, with a comparable Scandinavian/Nordic positioning, similar mid-sized footprint, and a similarly strong identity built around a signature building, collection, and exhibition programming.
• KODE Art Museums: Norwegian network of art museums in Bergen, with comparable domestic-Norwegian positioning, contemporary and modern art programming, museum shop, and educational offerings targeted at similar visitor segments.
• Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art: Helsinki's contemporary art museum, operated as part of the Finnish National Gallery but functionally similar in focus on international contemporary art, signature architecture, and education-led programming.

Broad incumbents

• Tate Modern: London's flagship contemporary art museum; a much larger global incumbent that competes for the same international contemporary art visitors and touring exhibitions as Astrup Fearnley.
• MoMA – The Museum of Modern Art: New York's leading modern and contemporary art museum and a global benchmark for exhibition programming, retail (MoMA Design Store), and membership — competing for international cultural tourism attention.
• Centre Pompidou: Paris-based national modern and contemporary art institution with global brand pull, museum shop, and exhibition programming that competes for high-profile contemporary art exhibitions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/astrupfearnley
• Facebookfacebook.com/astrupfearnleymuseet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/astrup-fearnley-museet
• Instagraminstagram.com/astrupfearnleymuseet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Astrup Fearnley Museet