Edvard Munch and "The Chocolate Girls"talk
The talk is included in the museum ticket price.
Notice: Be aware that a ticket does not guarantee a seat. Due to limited capacity, please arrive early to secure your spot.
Edvard Munch’s frieze at the Freia Chocolate Factory was presented as a gift to the female workers’ canteen. Following his visit to the factory, Munch observed that "the little chocolate (…) girls […] are understanding the pictures more and more".
In conjunction with the exhibition Edvard Munch and the Chocolate Factory we invite you to a conversation between author and journalist Marta Breen and exhibition curator Ana María Bresciani to discuss the identity and experiences of these young women.
Breen has contributed an essay to the exhibition publication that examines Edvard Munch’s concept of ‘chocolate girls’, referring to the female workers who, since 1923, have eaten their lunch beneath Munch’s frieze. Using this essay as a starting point, the conversationwill integrate perspectives on art, politics and gender.
At the time Edvard Munch painted the Freia Frieze, the chocolate industry in Norway was thriving, with female workers comprising two-thirds of the workforce. Munch recognized that, in the aftermath of World War I, it was a period of increased prominence for workers, and he questioned whether art was about to become accessible to all. The socio-political context of the early twentieth century is essential for understanding how Munch’s public art influenced society and contributed to the evolving status of women in thepursuit of equality.
The author Marta Breen (b. 1976) has written a number of books on women’s history, music and feminism. Among her many titles are the books «Piker, vin og sang» (Girls, wine and singing), «Født feminist. Hele Norge baker ikke» (Born feminist. Not everyone in Norway bakes) and «Kvinner i kamp» (Women in battle). The latter was produced in collaboration with illustrator Jenny Jordahl and Leser søker bok, and has been published in 28 countries. Two of Breen and Jordahl’s publications have won the Ministry of Culture’s non-fiction prize for young people.
In recent years, Marta Breen has established herself as a prominent feminist voice on the international stage as well. In recent years, she has given lectures on gender roles and gender equality in countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Serbia, Hungary, India and Brazil.
She has previously worked as a journalist and columnist for NRK, Dagbladet and Dagsavisen, and from 2014 to 2018 she was chair of the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association (NFFO). In 2019, she published the book «Om muser og menn» (On Muses and Men), which deals with the imbalance between women and men in cultural life. Her latest book is the graphic novel «Født fri» (Born Free), which explores gender and religion. (Cappelen Damm, 2025).
Ana María Bresciani Arenas (born in Bogotá, 1978) is a curator and writer, and works at MUNCH in Oslo. She has experience within institutional frameworks in modernism and contemporary art, and has held positions at Università Iuav di Venezia, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter and KORO (Public Art Norway). She has served as chair of the board at BEK (Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts) since 2024.
