According to NRK Sørlandet, commercial director Eldbjørg Dahl said the museum's success has exceeded expectations, with visitor numbers rising steadily. The museum won the Prix Versailles architecture prize in Paris in December. In April 2025, about 33% of guests were international, rising to 40% in the same period this year.
However, critics argue the museum still requires too much public funding. Svein-Harald Mosvold Knutsen, group leader for the Pensioners' Party in Kristiansand, told NRK Sørlandet that without taxpayer money, the project would have run a huge deficit. He said that while Kunstsilo is good in isolation, its success is bought with enormous public funds, and questioned spending when local services are squeezed.
So far, it has gone our way.
The total public funding and operating budget details remain unclear.
This number has long been surpassed. Many people choose to visit us, many more than we actually expected.
Visits to Kunstsilo are going one way, and that is upwards.
We have experienced an enormous response here in Kristiansand. The people of Kristiansand cherish Kunstsilo, we feel that every day.
Large flows of guests come to Kristiansand from cruise traffic. But many also come by ferry, car or plane.
Kunstsilo in isolation is good, something we have said all along. But it is presented as a fairy-tale success. The truth is that this is a success bought with enormous use of our common money.
Without taxpayers' money, this project would have run a huge deficit.
When elderly care, children and young people, and local services are squeezed, while hundreds of millions are spent on Kunstsilo, someone must dare to say stop.
Here we have the candy bag, with prizes, awards and honors.
It was very big for us. But it is a bit difficult to compare prizes, because all are prestigious in their own way.