People in Our City
Meet new citizens in The People in Our City, a portrait series on migration. See it in Byparken in August, published in Aftenbladet summer 2025.
Get tickets hereTHE PEOPLE IN OUR CITY
In the summer of 1825, 52 people from Stavanger travelled to New York aboard the sloop Restauration, starting the Norwegian emigration to America. The same reasons that led to migration then still apply today: poverty, war, hunger, persecution, lack of freedom of expression and religion—or simply the search for work or love. Stavanger has always looked outward and been an international city.
Its status as an oil capital in recent decades has strengthened this part of the city’s identity. Today, 21% of Stavanger’s residents have backgrounds from countries other than Norway. People from 180 different nations influence the city's business, culture, and daily life. Who are they?
Hayat al-Sharif, a city of refuge artist and photographer, and journalist Arild I. Olsson from Aftenbladet are behind the exhibition and portrait series The People in Our City, part of the city’s anniversary and emigration commemoration. The series features portraits of people who have moved to Stavanger from abroad.
The portraits will be published in Aftenbladet in summer 2025, and the exhibition will be on display in Byparken throughout August. The project is a collaboration between Stavanger Aftenblad, Sølvberget, and Stavanger 900 Years.
Last Updated: 07/13/2025
Source: Region Stavanger
People in Our City