“At present here in Eidsvolls plass there are statues of five men and no women. We’re not going to rectify that imbalance with one statue, but this is an important step in the right direction,” said Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, President of the Storting.

A century ago this year, Karen Platou became the first woman to take her seat in parliament as a permanent MP. The Storting is celebrating women in politics in a number of ways. One of these will be the statue of Rogstad in Eidsvolls plass. The contest to decide who designs and makes it has already started.

“Anna Rogstad was a pioneer. She fought for women’s suffrage, and she paved the way for the women who followed her into politics. We stand on her shoulders. Her statue will occupy its rightful and visible place in Norway’s most important square for political demonstrations. Which is where she belongs,” added Trøen.

Anna Rogstad took her seat in the Storting for the very first time on 17th March 1911. She was a permanent Substitute MP from 20th February 1912 to 30th January 1913.

KORO, Norway’s public art agency, will have overall responsibility for the competition, both in its capacity as public art specialists and as project manager. There will be an open pre-qualification process, after which up to six artists will be selected to produce designs. The winner will be chosen from this shortlist.

The application deadline is 8th March 2021.

“Eidsvolls plass is a prominent site for political expression. We think it’s wonderful that the Storting is marking the struggle for women’s suffrage by erecting a sculpture of Anna Rogstad here. The question of who is visible in the public eye is of great current interest, so it’ll be really interesting to see how the artists approach this kind of challenge,” said Trude Schjelderup Iversen, senior curator at KORO.

See also: The Storting honours its female pioneers