The Fritt Ord Foundation's grants to critics for 2022-2023

June 22 2022

The Fritt Ord Foundation has now awarded its annual grants to critics. At NOK 250 000 each, the grants are intended to result in a steady stream of reviews during the period from August 2022 to August 2023.

After receiving 31 applications by the deadline, Fritt Ord will be awarding 10 grants to critics this year. The successful applicants were: Aleksander Huser (film and TV critic at Ny Tid), Andrew Kroglund (literary critic at Vårt Land), Elise Winterthun (literary critic at Klassekampen), Espen Hauglid (commentator and critic of pictorial art at Morgenbladet), Hedda Fredly (dramatic arts critic at Dagbladet), Heidi Bøhagen (podcast critic at Bergens Tidende), Ketil Slagstad (literary critic at Morgenbladet), Per Christian Selmer-Andersen (dramatic arts critic at Aftenposten), Sindre Hovdenakk (literary critic at VG) and Tomine Sandal (dramatic arts critic at Klassekampen).

“These 10 are among today’s most interesting critics of and commentators on Norwegian culture. We are especially pleased by the fact that six of this year’s 10 writers are being awarded one of Fritt Ord’s Grants for Critics for the first time. This is the first year a grant is being awarded to a person who exclusively reviews podcasts, in recognition of the fact that this is an increasingly more important genre”, remarks Knut Olav Åmås, executive director of Fritt Ord.

The Fritt Ord Foundation’s grant scheme was established in 2015; it is intended to help improve the quality and professionalisation of criticism and reviews. The Foundation strives to give more critics better opportunities to pursue their profession and to spend more time cultivating it. The grants are intended to supplement other income from reviews, on top of the ordinary fees from the newspapers.

In addition to the annual grants for critics, Fritt Ord supports this field in other ways as well. Daily and weekly media and the critics who write for them can apply for project support for specific critical review projects under the call for applications for Norwegian Journalism. This scheme has six ordinary deadlines for applications each year. The next deadline is at 3 p.m. on Friday, 5 August.

For more information about the grants for critics, please contact Executive Director Knut Olav Åmås by email at: knut.olav.amas@frittord.no.

A full list of grant recipients is available on the allocation database (choose “all years” and the category: “grants for critics”). Read more about each year’s allocations here:
Recipients of the 2015 grants for critics
Recipients of the 2016 grants for critics
Recipients of the 2017 grants for critics
Recipients of the 2018 grants for critics
Recipients of the 2019 grants for critics
• Recipients of the 2020 grants for critics
Recipients of the 2021 grants for critics

News

Civitates' Tech & Democracy open call

March 6 2025

Civitates – The European Democracy Fund is a pooled philanthropic fund that was set up in 2018 for the sole purpose of addressing democratic decline and closing civic space in Europe. The case for confronting these threats is growing increasingly urgent. Fritt Ord Foundation is one of the initiators and partners of Civitates.

Civitates has launched its Tech and Democracy open call to support organisations working to ensure safer, more inclusive online spaces (social media platforms, search engines etc.) by improving the enforcement of EU tech regulations at the national level.

This open call offers a unique opportunity to strengthen civil society’s role in holding the tech sector accountable, with a focus on key EU regulations such as the Digital Services Act, GDPR, AI Act or the European Media Freedom Act to name a few.

Call for nominations: Free Media Awards 2025

March 3 2025

In collaboration with the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS of Hamburg, the Fritt Ord Foundation has allocated the Free Media Awards annually since 2004 to Eastern European journalists and media that defy every obstacle to tirelessly ensure independent press coverage. Russia’s war against Ukraine and the subsequent wave of disinformation clearly demonstrates the need for independent reporting in the region. Journalists and media in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary that promote freedom of the press through their investigative and independent reporting are eligible to be nominated for the Free Media Awards.

Art and Institutions: “I Demand a Museum to Feel its Own Floors Tremble When Other Museums are Destroyed in War”

February 12 2025

Saturday 22 February 2025 at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, from 14.30 to 16.30 h.

Conversation with Adam Budak (Poland/Germany), Stefanie Carp (Germany), Matej Drlička (Slovakia), Andrea Geyer (USA) og Sarah Lookofsky (USA/Norway). Ingerid Salvesen is moderator.

Across the world, cultural institutions are under increasing pressure. Censorship, self-censorship, drastic funding cuts, and political and sponsorship interference are on the rise. Former and present institutional directors – with personal experiences of political pressure, cancellation and censorship from different geographic contexts – will discuss the limitations and capacities of art institutions in the present.

Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute to Sara Gaulin

February 5 2025

Sarah Gaulin (30) is being awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for her courageous and principled defence of freedom of expression in the face of extremism, gang crime and negative social control.
As a prominent voice, Gaulin has drawn attention to some of the most demanding and controversial social challenges of our time.