28 August 2025
After the Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffery laid down the official foundation stone in May, Museum Nord can now confirm the opening date for SKREI in Kabelvåg, Lofoten:
The centre for knowledge and experiences about the Lofoten fisheries opens June 30th 2026
– It is fantastic to be able to say that we will open to the public next summer, says Svein Ingvoll Pedersen, department director for Museum Nord in Vågan. – The cod, the Lofoten fisheries and the stockfish are part of one of the really great stories in Norwegian history. It contains more than most people realize, and we look forward to letting the audience see, learn and experience this.
SKREI will convey old and new stories about codfish, people and living with the sea. Through an innovative main exhibition, activities and experiences, the public will get to know the Northeast Arctic cod and the importance of the Lofoten fisheries through the ages.
SKREI is located on the site of the medieval town of Vágar, Northern Norway’s first town. This became the starting point for the earliest international trade in stockfish.
The Lofoten fisheries has involved the coastal population from Helgeland in the south to Finnmark in the north, and has created considerable value. For over 1000 years, stockfish has been both a commodity and a carrier of culture. SKREI will be a boost for coastal culture that highlights the major ecological and social connections that cod and humans are part of.
Audiences of all ages will be able to explore four arenas, each with its own unique perspective on the history of the Lofoten fisheries:
The Otolith – new build of 5000 m², designed by LPO architects, with main exhibition, temporary exhibitions, café and museum shop.
Lofoten Museum – historic buildings and an impressive collection of traditional boats.
Espolin Gallery – large art collection depicting the lives and struggles of the coastal people.
Lofoten Aquarium – live fish and marine animals from the waters surrounding Lofoten.
The construction project is progressing well under the leadership of Skrei Eiendom and Sortland Entreprenør, and Otolitten will reach an important milestone in the next few weeks with the completed outer shell of the building. In parallel, the new main exhibition is being developed in collaboration with the Swedish exhibition agency Expology AB, which has previously won an award for its innovative exhibition at the Spårvägsmuseet in Stockholm.
– We are also working on the plans for catering, events and temporary exhibitions, and look forward to sharing more about this at a later time, says Pedersen.
The official opening celebration for SKREI will take place in late summer 2026, with a program for both locals, partners and visiting guests.
Drone images show great progress at SKREI’s construction site this summer
Photo: Inge Wegge, Lofoten Film Collective
Museum Nord, Skrei Eiendom AS and Vågan municipality are building SKREI – the largest new museum in Northern Norway for decades, and one of the region’s most important cultural industry projects.
SKREI is funded by Vågan municipality, Nordland County Council, the Ministry of Culture and private sponsors. The total investment is approximately NOK 600 million.
SKREI is realized in Storvågan, Kabelvåg – in the heart of Lofoten, at the place where the commercial trade in cod began. The centre consists of four venues: the new building the Otolith and Museum Nord’s existing facilities the Lofoten Museum, Lofoten Aquarium and Espolin Gallery.
The Otolith was designed by LPO architects. Sortland Entreprenør is the main contractor, Asplan Viak is the landscape architect and the exhibition is being developed in collaboration with Expology AB.
Museum Nord operates 21 museums in Lofoten, Ofoten and Vesterålen, including the Lofotr Viking Museum, the Hurtigruten Museum and the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum. In 2024, Museum Nord had 330,000 guests in total. SKREI is expected to receive approximately 140,000 visitors a year, which will have major ripple effects for local communities and regional businesses.
