Norwegian artists began to use live art in the 1960s, inspired by the happenings in the USA in the 1950s. Above all live art was seen as a counter-reaction to the dominating art-form at the time, painting, and to the increased commercialisation of the cultural scene as a whole.

The Norwegian artist Kjartan Slettemark´s importance in the Norwegian and Swedish live art scene in the 1960s and 1970s is unquestionable. What can be called the first live art performance held in this country, was executed by Kjartan Slettemark at the opening of the exhibition Høstutstillingen in 1967. At the end of the 1960s several exhibitions took the form of happenings. Willibald Storn’s Coca Donald Samfund, ikke ta meg at Young Artists Society in 1967 for example. An exhibition by the artist collective 'Gruppe 66' at Bergen Kunsthall in 1966 was also of great importance. In the same manner as Kjartan Slettemark´s performances, ritual and political aspects were essential ingredients in all of these happenings.

Performance art has never had a marked place at the Norwegian art scene, which probably has to do with it not being 'institutionalised'. Representative examples of more recent performance-art are the works of Hilmar Fredriksen, Kurt Johannessen and Kjetil Skøien. Establishing a form of neo-Dadaistic performance, Hilmar Fredriksen belongs to the first generation of Norwegian performance-artists. Kurt Johannessen has on his side focused on the relationship between the body and the room, whereas Kjetil Skøien, originally educated in visual art, has among other things been interested in defining a relationship between visual art and theatre. Kjetil Skøien established the theatre-project Passage Nord in 1986.

The dialogue between visual art and theatre is highly present also in the Norwegian project-based theatre group Verdens Theatre, established in 1986. This is also representative of another important live art/performance group in Norway, Bak-Truppen, also established in 1986. Black Box Theatre in Oslo, Avantgarden Playhouse, Trondheim and Bergen International Theatre have all been important scenes for this non-institutional live-art scene. Together these three institutions constitute a network for collaborative action, Nettverk for scenekunst, which among other things cooperates with foreign theatres and touring networks.