MI-RAP spotlighted cross-sector collaboration on music and urban development in Fredrikstad

8 May 2026

In Fredrikstad, MI-RAP brought together representatives from politics, municipal administration, real estate development and the music sector for a panel conversation on the role of music and culture in the city’s urban development. The event at St. Croix Huset was part of MI-RAP’s dissemination phase, putting into practice the cross-sector approach developed through the project’s pilot work — including the Creative Spaces workshop tool developed by Oslo-based Musikkontoret MØST.

The panel conversation built on the methodology behind Creative Spaces — Workshop Tool for Interacting with Real Estate & Public Authorities, a MI-RAP pilot tool designed to bring municipalities, cultural actors and property developers together to explore how space can support music and culture. Where the tool provides a structured workshop format for surfacing perspectives and building cross-sector alliances, the Fredrikstad event applied the same underlying logic in a panel format — opening up dialogue between actors who do not typically share the same table.

The conversation centred on three main themes: who the city is being developed for, the relationship between culture and real estate development, and what concrete steps are needed going forward. Panellists explored how rapid urban growth — with over 6,500 new homes in the pipeline and a projected population increase of up to 10% over the next decade — creates both opportunities and risks for living cultural environments.

A recurring point was that culture and music are not add-ons to urban development, but preconditions for creating attractive and vibrant city districts. Local examples such as Rebellhuset and the artist community at Holmen were highlighted as models of how self-organisation, municipal support and collaboration with developers can build robust creative environments with long-term value for the city.

The panel also discussed the need for the music sector to organise more effectively and engage more actively in planning processes — making the case for what creative communities contribute beyond the cultural sector alone.

The event was moderated by Eyvind Brox, with contributions from Marit Elisabeth Jensen (Avantor), Camilla Sørensen Eidsvold (Østfold County Council), Ingar Guttormsen (Fredrikstad municipality), Alexandros Tanase (Goldstack Records) and Ingrid Kindem (freelancer).

The panel conversation will be followed by a workshop to develop concrete initiatives for making Fredrikstad a stronger music city.

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