Winter sports have a unique position in Norway. The exhibition “Freedom on Snow” opened at the Holmenkollen Ski Museum in Oslo in November 2014 and is about snowboard and modern skiing.
The exhibition interprets freedom on snow as part of the same phenomenon characterized by individuality and the quest for unique experiences. Until the opening of this exhibition modern snowboard and ski history hasn’t been given the recognition it deserves as an important part of Norwegian winter-sports history.
Holmenkollen Ski Museum describes Freedom on Snow like this:
“Ski and snowboard is not just a sport and activity, it is a lifestyle. Thinking outside the box, pushing limits; the perhaps most central element in both is the playfulness and having fun.
This is reflected in the exhibition where you have several chances to play with our installations. Both cultures put more emphasis on the communal feeling than the results. The arena for competing is just as often social media channels and film. The exhibition is interactive with films, interviews, and clips from old snowboard and ski films.”
In the exhibition you can see old snowboards, the development of modern skiing, film by Field Productions, photos by Frode Sandbeck, interviews of the best athletes in the world, historic film parts and ypu can even try to snowboard and ski yourself on the gyro boards.
It’s an exhibition about Norwegian culture, from mountain peaks to urban rails, and gives you a look at what makes it unique; the
togetherness, the focus on fun ahead of results and the freedom of making your own path. It is a great look back at where we came from.
“The development of modern skiing and snowboarding has been diverse,” says Lars-Kristian Haugen, who has served in an advisory group for the exhibition.
The Holmenkollen Ski Museum is located inside the famous Holmenkollen Ski Jump and the museum is the oldest of its kind in the world. The museum presents 4.000 years of skiing history as well as Norwegian polar exploration artifacts.
The observation deck on top of the jump tower offers panoramic views of Oslo.
Freedom on Snow in Oslo, written by Tor Kjolberg