The Museum of Contemporary Art closed 3 September 2017. The contemporary art collection has started its transition towards the new National Museum.

The last day the Museum of Contemporary Art was open to the public was Sunday 3 September 2017. Between then and the opening of the new National Museum in 2020, contemporary art will be displayed in temporary exhibitions at the National Gallery and Mellomstasjonen - the information centre for the new museum.

The entire museum collection must first be documented, reviewed for conservation and packed before being made available to the public. The new museum will include the first-ever permanent display of contemporary art, extending over a total area of 2 300 m2, in addition to temporary exhibitions. Visitors will be able view contemporary art in completely new contexts, juxtaposed with older art, design and architecture.

The National Museum’s collection of contemporary art comprises some 5 000 works by Norwegian and international artists from 1945 to today. The collection contains a wide range of genres and forms of expression: painting, graphic art, drawing, photography, sculpture, objects, installation and video-art.

The museum opened its doors to the public in 1990 in the former headquarters of Norges Bank at Bankplassen in central Oslo. This beautiful Art Nouveau-inspired building in Norwegian granite and marble, designed by architect Magnus Olsen Hjorth (1862–1927), was completed in 1906. The museum has an exhibition area of approximately 2 000 m2 over two floors, with the main gallery located in the large bank hall on the ground floor. In 2003, the museum became an integral part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.