Compared to high prestige contemporary art, art for children is often associated with lower status than other kinds of art, based on the notion that art deteriorate when it is customized to a certain target group. We ask: What happens when one tries to increase the status of the art for children by bringing contemporary art perspectives into the children art arena? What challenges are there in having children as the target group for the arts? Is it even possible to create interesting art for children? Does the concept of “contemporary art for children” make sense at all? And what is there to be negotiated in the meeting between art for children on the one hand, and contemporary art on the other? The paper is based on qualitative interviews done as part of an evaluation conducted by Telemark Research Institute on behalf of the Arts Council Norway.
