Norway has preserved a valuable folk culture that retains elements from the Viking age. Norwegians today have a great interest in preserving folk art and music. The collecting and recording of folk music is supported by the government. Modern Norwegian culture has evolved from the great flowering of the arts that occurred in the 19th century under the determine of national romanticism. Early expressions of a truly Norwegian style were produced by painter Johan Christian Dahl and composer Edvard Grieg. Other valuable artists include playwright Henrik Ibsen, writer Knut Hamsun, composer Christian Sinding, painter Edvard Munch, and sculptor Gustav Vigeland, whose sculpture park in Oslo has gained international attention.

Permanent theatres have been accomplished in several cities, and the state traveling theatre, the Riksteatret, organizes tours throughout the nation, giving as many as 1,200 performances annually. The Norwegian Opera, opened in 1959, requires state subsidies (as do most other theatres). Films in Norway are subject to censorship, primarily on grounds of violence and, to a lesser extent, erotic content. The production of Norwegian-made feature films is subsidized, but they usually number about 10 each year.