During the four centuries of Danish rule, Norway’s national cultural traditions were not officially recognised and most cultural institutions were established on a private basis. Following the union with Sweden in 1814, a century of nation-building began, which culminated in 1905 with Norway’s independence and the crowning of a Norwegian monarch, King Hǻkon VII.

During this period, Norway’s first cultural institutions were initiated, for example the National Gallery in 1842. Public libraries received regular public funding from 1876 and in 1899 the National Theatre - Oslo produced its first play. The National Theatre - Bergen had staged their first performance in 1876. Cultural policy was seen as an integral part of building a nation and the development of the attendant concepts of national heritage and nationality. The development of the Norwegian language also contributed to nation-building. In 1848 Nynorsk (New Norwegian) appeared, a grammar based on local dialects, significantly not influenced by the Danish language. The language debate, or conflict, is important as it exemplifies the broad conflict between a national romantic movement emerging from the civil servant or bourgeois class in the cities that still wanted to keep cultural ties with Denmark (and Europe) and a populist national movement that wanted to cut these ties. (Please see Language for more details.)

In the pre-war period, The Labour Party played an important role in the development of cultural policy. Their influence was perhaps not greatly visible in parliamentary decisions; rather more important was their work to ensure a spread of (cultural) knowledge to the people, defining culture in the broadest possible terms.

After the Second World War, a Joint Political Program for the reconstruction of Norway was adopted. The program included policies for the church and public education, under which the remit of cultural matters fell. The main aim was to use cultural activities to encourage a new national identity thereby uniting the country. Formal cultural policy is therefore mainly considered a post-war phenomenon in Norway, as in many other European countries.

During the past 50 years Norwegian cultural policy has been used as a political instrument to:

a) build a unique national identity

b) develop social democratic values, widen the definition of culture and contribute to decentralisation of cultural politics and provision.

c) ensure cultural diversity and a position in the international community

During the period of post-war economic development, leisure and entertainment activities experienced significant growth throughout the country. The government increased funding for the arts, and recognised that measures would have to be taken to develop an understanding for, and interest in the arts. It also sought to improve regional accessibility. The result was a systematic program of decentralisation and democratisation of culture which began in 1948.

During this time several new institutions were established with a social policy perspective in mind aiming to make every level of culture accessible to all Norwegians. The Ambulatory Cinema (The Mobile Cinema) was founded in 1948, the Norwegian Touring Theatre in 1949, the National Touring Exhibitions Norway in 1954 and the Rikskonsertene (a national touring scheme for music) in 1967.

The new cultural activities organised through these agencies were held in the many community halls and regional arts centres that were established all over the country during the same period. Expansion of cultural activity to include a broader representation of the population including groups living in the rural areas of Norway has often been referred to as the distribution and democratisation of Norwegian cultural policy. However, although the first decades after the Second World War were characterised by a democratisation of culture as geographical barriers to cultural experiences were dismantled, governmental definitions of culture remained obstructively narrow. Consequently, many social barriers to participation in cultural life remained.

As a reaction to this, cultural policy in the period from 1970 onwards re-introduced a broader definition of culture, which can be traced back to the ideas of the Labour movement during the 1930s. In fact, one can argue that this non-elitist approach to culture can be traced back even further, to the populist nationalist movement of the late 19th century, or more precisely, 1814 and the creation of the Norwegian Constitution. The constitution gave the vote to about 50% of all men. The majority of these came from farming or peasant communities, and this group (connected to the Venstre, ‘liberal party’) soon gained a great deal of power and influence. Their ideas and traditions around equality and participation from this period still stand strong, and have also come to affect cultural policy.

From the 1970s, the focus was on ‘accessibility’ – emphasising not only ease of physical and geographical access but also the capacity of an art form to inspire interest, understanding, enjoyment and, where possible, participation. Accordingly, ‘the extended cultural concept’ was introduced into the jargon of cultural policy, referring to traditional cultural activities, youth activities and sports, and other organised leisure activities. In the new interpretation of cultural activity there was greater emphasis on personal creativity and participation, and the aim was to include all members of the public in an effort to create a cultural democracy. The drive towards decentralisation in the administration of state funds continued apace during the 1970s with the devolution of responsibility for state funding of regional cultural activities to the counties and municipalities. The setting up of municipal cultural boards enabled local administrations to respond more effectively to specific cultural needs and priorities within their immediate environment.

Another crucial development in the distribution and democratisation of Norwegian cultural policy was the establishment in 1964 of the arms-length Kulturrådet (Council for Cultural Affairs, now called Arts Council Norway). Originally founded primarily with a view to enhancing the system of state funding for literature (see below), this independent body was given responsibility for the equitable distribution and disbursement of the Norway Culture Fund which is allocated annually by the Norwegian Parliament. As an integral component of their strategy the government has also sought, with varying degrees of success, to encourage the development of self-sustaining cultural industries in the regions.

Further enhancement of the system for funding regional cultural activity took place in 1986 when more funds were transferred from central government to the county municipalities. Municipalities became major recipients of subsidy calculated on the basis of a number of demographic criteria that attempted to take into account such elements as municipality size, density of population and age distribution. Alongside a geographical widening of culture which had been a priority since 1945, there was a movement in the 1970s to widen the definitions of culture and what might constitute 'art'.

Seeking to render art and culture accessible to everyone also had an important economic dimension. It has been a consistent goal of Norwegian national cultural policy that the price of attending and/or participating in cultural activities should not be prohibitively high. The reigning philosophy is that culture is a public good and economic factors should not prevent anyone from experiencing or becoming involved in cultural activity of any description. As a result, there was a significant increase in government support of the arts during the 1970s.

In the 1970s strong union-oriented and politically influential artists' associations emerged, demanding a better standard of living. By giving artists negotiating power through their various support organisations Norway, more than most countries, recognises that the social standing and benefits of artists should be equal to that of other economic groups. Increasingly, culture became a legitimate and potent topic for political debate as evidenced by the rise in Kunstnermeldingene or government discussion papers. Other characteristic activities which distinguish Norwegian cultural policy from that of other countries are the various support schemes for libraries, cinema, the national press and literature that exist. The result is that Norway has one of the most extensive public subsidy programme for artists today. There is also a comparably high level of arts constituency involvement in cultural policy formation, please see the section on Cultural infrastructure for more information.

The cultural policy of the 1970s, emphasising decentralisation and growth in subsidies, was developed during decades of economic growth. However, as the economic growth stagnated in the 1980s, a new trend in cultural policy developed alongside the others. Cultural policy became concerned with finding an economic 'use' for culture. This is not a trend exclusive to Norway. A merger between culture and business, using culture in city regeneration projects for example, became a common argument in cultural policy. For more information about this trend please see Creative and cultural industries.

Norway’s first Libraries Act was passed in 1935, but provision for compulsory public libraries and school libraries was not made until 1947. A new Library Act passed in the 1970s brought a greater degree of co-ordination to the library service, establishing one main library in each municipality and bringing the network of municipal libraries and their branches under a joint administration. In 1985 this act was revised again, this time expanding the role of the libraries in order that they could function as information and cultural centres for the local community. These are not responsible for direct lending, but undertake long-distance lending and have co-ordinating and advisory functions. In recent years, there has been a renewed focus on the National Library and a great increase in public funding to build a research-oriented centre of competence and a 'seamless' national network.

In 2000, the report 'Sources of knowledge and experience', proposed a new Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority. Established in 2003, the authority’s main task is to improve development, preservation, and the efficient use of culture- and knowledge-based assets.

The state showed an early interest in the cinema and the Cinemas Act of 1913 was to remain in force for most of the century. This act was based on two principles – that all films shown publicly must be approved by a central government censorship institute and that all cinemas must be subject to a municipal licensing system. In most areas the implementation of the act led to a municipal monopoly and established the long-standing Norwegian principle that the operation of cinemas was an integral part of a municipality’s cultural function. Operation costs were subsidised with the intention of keeping ticket prices low and guaranteeing the quality of the film repertoire. In 1988 the original act was extended to include commercial films and videos and henceforth incorporated provisions relating to serious violence and pornography. The principles of a central censorship body and a municipal licensing system were maintained, but 2.5per cent of gross turnover from any enterprise licensed to operate a cinema was now to be paid to the Norwegian Cinema and Film Foundation, which grant aids touring cinema schemes and quality film and video production. This scheme is managed by Film&Kino. In 2001, the Audio Visual Production Fund was established to administer support to all national film production in Norway and to advise the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs on film policy.

The Norwegian national press also receives funding from central government. With the establishment of political parties from the 1880s onwards, the number of newspapers increased rapidly until 1920 when there were some 240 throughout the country. This number remained fairly constant throughout the 1930s, then fell dramatically during the German occupation, but rose again to about 200 in 1950. However, as the market became saturated, newspapers subsequently started to close down and by the mid-1950s only 150 remained. In 1967 an official committee proposed far-reaching measures in order to maintain the quality of the national press, and the subsidy scheme which followed guaranteed a sum proportionate to the amount of paper used in the production of all newspapers below a certain size. This scheme, which is still in operation, is intended to guarantee that the population receives information of a variety of differing political viewpoints from a range of competing newspapers.

In 2002, the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs established the Norwegian Mass Media Authority to handle broadcasting and press issues (earlier separate offices). The new authority ensures a collective mass media policy and strengthens focus on the new world of digital media.

Introduced in 1965, the State Purchasing Scheme for Norwegian Literature is a unique programme aimed specifically at developing the Norwegian book market (please see Arts Council Norway - Literature Activities). Before the Second World War two-thirds of new literary works published in Norway were in Norwegian, but during and after the war Norwegian literature lost much ground to translated literature and by 1960 its share of the Norwegian market had sunk to just one third, with an average of only 90 new Norwegian books published each year between 1951 and 1963. Under the scheme a certain number of copies of all Norwegian literary works are bought each year for distribution to libraries around the country. The scheme is organised by the Arts Council Norway which thereby seeks to increase the market, extend the economic base for Norwegian literature and afford greater economic security to publishers. In 1990 budget funds were also allocated for a selective purchasing scheme for translated literature.

The preservation of national heritage has always been a major priority in Norwegian cultural policy. Regional and national historic museums, from natural history to local tram shows, easily gained public support in the name of national identity and district policies. With a few exceptions, fine art museums started out as private initiatives and were then followed up by state funding.

After many years of regional focus, the Ministry of Cultural and Church Affairs has initiated the development of the new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. This is a merger between the four museums of Architecture, Applied Arts, Fine Art and Contemporary Art, and is intended to create 'an arena for the nation as a whole, a museum institution that has international impact.'