Artist Guesthouse Svolvær

Since 1951, the Artist Guesthouse Svolvær has been a place where artists can create and exchange ideas, a tradition that continues to thrive. It offers opportunities for accommodation, work, and courses, and also has its own guest studio programs.

You can rent a space at Kunstnerhuset for a few days, weeks, or months, and it is also possible to organize courses for students.

Located in the heart of Lofoten, Artist Guesthouse Svolvær provides close proximity to weather and nature, sky and sea. No one leaves this place unaffected. From the dining table in the living room, you can experience all four seasons while enjoying your breakfast.

With its long history embedded in the walls, Artist Guesthouse is easy to settle into. Whether you want to gather materials and inspiration or need a quiet place to work, this is the place for you.

Photo Kjell Ove Storvik, Nordnorsk kunstnersenter

Book Your Stay
To book your stay, contact us at by e-mail. We answer requests 2-3 times a week. Our price list can be sent out upon request.

You can also reach us by calling North Norwegian Art Centre during weekdays between 9 am and 3 pm. You can leave a message, and we will contact you within a few days.

Telephone +47 40 08 95 95
E-mail kunstnerhuset@nnks.no

You can pay by invoice before the stay starts, or by card on arrival (Visa or Mastercard). We also accept cash in Norwegian kroner.

General Information
The Artist Guesthouse is located at the top of a small hill on Svinøya in Svolvær, and access to Kunstnerhuset is clearly marked with signs.

The facilities are basic. There is a washer and a separate area with a washing machine and facilities for drying your washing, iron, and ironing board.

We also have ample space for storing various equipment such as skis, bikes, surfboards and similar.

Should you wish to attempt to catch your own food, we have a fishing rod that we will gladly lend out.

We recommend and encourage our guests to bring indoor shoes.

Summer time: We have a couple of barbecue grills available outdoors, weather permitting.

Wintertime: the hill up to the house is short but steep, and during winter, it can get slippery. We sand the road if necessary, but it may be wise to use ice cleats on your shoes.

Note that not all taxi drivers will open to drive up the final hill.

Workspace
On the first floor we have two, large ateliers with views out to the sea and the mountains in all directions. The rooms are well suited for work with both small and large formats, and are also suitable for use as course rooms.

We also have one studio in the basement, one that has previously been used as a printmaking room. The basement floor ceiling is high with lots of natural light. There is underfloor heating, so the room can be used all year round.

One must be prepared to share the ateliers with other artists who are visiting the house. Some periods are more popular than others. This is especially true of the summer months, June, July, and August, but we also have many visitors during January, February, and March.

It is important to note that there are currently no stores in Svolvær or Lofoten as a whole that offer art supplies. You must therefore bring the equipment you will need yourselves. Some choose to send this by mail ahead of their arrival at Kunstnerhuset. Collecting packages at the post office can be arranged in advance in agreement with the manager.

Access to the Artist Guesthouse
From the Hurtigruten and speedboat quay, as well as the bus stop in Svolvær town centre it takes approx. 15-20 minutes to walk.

From the square in Svolvær, follow Vestfjordgata out of the town centre until you reach Svinøybrua (the largest bridge in Svolvær). It is located on the right-hand side when coming from the town centre. After crossing the bridge, continue straight ahead, follow the bend to the left and then take the first road up to the right. A fairly steep gravel road leads up to the house, which is located on a hill. There is a sign on a lamppost down by the road.

If you have a lot of luggage, we recommend taking a taxi. The taxi centre is located next to the bus stop. It is worth noting that taxi drivers will not usually drive up the last hill to Kunstnerhuset. You'll have to carry your own luggage, but feel free to ask the driver for help if it's difficult. The same applies when leaving the house: you must carry your own luggage down to the road.

From Svolvær airport it is approximately 5 kilometres
Taxis can be booked by phone+47 07550 or the TaxiFix app
You must state both the city and street name: Bernt Salvesens vei 14, Svolvær

The Story of Kunstnerhuset – The Artist Guesthouse Svolvær
The Swedish artist Anna Boberg (1864–1935) is considered the founder of Kunstnerhuset, the artist guest house in Svolvær. She first came to Lofoten in 1901. She travelled on foot, over the mountains, all the way from Kiruna, together with her husband, the architect Ferdinand Boberg (1860–1946). They had been visiting Hjalmar Lundbohm (1855–1926), the founder and director of the mining company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) in Kiruna, and who had many artist friends.

Anna Boberg’s experience of Lofoten led to an acceleration in her artistic production, and she stayed in the area for extended periods during the subsequent decades. Like other so-called Lofoten painters, she was keen to convey the local landscape to a wider European public, but her links to Lofoten created ripple effects that far exceeded that endeavour. The fact that her portrait hangs in Kunstnerhuset is due to her commitment to artistic activities in Lofoten. The story of the guesthouse for artists, however, began a bit earlier, with Alfhild Erleyda (Erleidja) Størmer-Olsen (1885–1973), a well-travelled and hospitable merchant’s daughter. Miss Størmer-Olsen opened her home at Klippenberg to guests, and several Swedish artists found accommodation there, eventually also Anna Boberg.

It was nevertheless Anna Boberg who, together with her husband, established the basis for the house now known as Kunstnerhuset Svolvær. In 1903 Ferdinand Boberg designed a small painter’s cabin for Anna, and it was built on the island of Kjeøya at the entrance to Svolvær’s harbour. In 1934 she donated the cabin to the artist organisation Bildende Kunstnere in Oslo, “to be used by Norwegian and Swedish painters”. The ‘Boberg Cabin’ became the place where many Swedish and Norwegian artists who visited Lofoten stayed. In 1940 the building was razed by the Germans to make room for a bunker.

In 1952 the current Kunstnerhus was built as a replacement for the Boberg Cabin, but it is situated a bit further north than the original cabin. The idea for the house was launched after the war by Professor Axel Revold, Stinius Fredriksen and Ulrik Henriksen. It was built with financial support from Fondet for norsk/svensk samarbeid and in collaboration with KRO (Konstnärernas Riksorganisation in Sweden) and BKS (Bildende Kunstneres Styre in Norway), along with additional support from private donors and war-reparation funds for the Boberg Cabin. Kunstnerhuset Svolvær officially opened in 1953.

In December 2012 Nordnorsk kunstnersenter took over responsibility for managing Kunstnerhuset Svolvær. It now functions as a place where artists from all over the world can both live and work.

Photo Anna Boberg by her studio at Kjeøya by Svolvær harbor, Lofoten