Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) was instigated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs in the fall of 2001 for a trial period of three years. The institution is organized as a government owned private foundation, the first of its kind in Norway. The trial period was evaluated in 2004 and the report’s conclusions were overall positive, but recommended extensive transferral of free funds for the organisation’s future prosperity. OCA was made a permanent institution from the 1st of January 2005

The main aim of the Office for Contemporary Art Norway is to develop collaborations in the contemporary visual art field between Norway and the international art scene.

The Office For Contemporary Art Norway runs five studios and two apartments for international artists in Norway. They operate studios and residencies for Norwegian artists abroad in New York, Berlin, Istanbul and Beijing, give exhibition grants and travel support to contemporary Norwegian artists that have exhibitions abroad, and run a visitors program for international curators that visit Norwegian exhibitions/festivals or biennials.

OCA’s main goal is to develop international collaborations in the field of contemporary art, and they have taken over the management of international grants for the visual arts from the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs.