
The Villa


A house with history - now filled with new creativity
GEM Studio is located in Blystadboligen –
a grand villa from the late 1800s,
built by industrialist Lauritz Blystad.
Overlooking the Akerselva river, the house has stood as a local landmark in Torshov
for more than a century.
Today, the villa is alive with new voices and ideas. Photographers, filmmakers, and creatives gather here, bringing fresh energy into the historic rooms.
A house where history lives in the walls – and the future is shaped every day.

The people behind GEM
GEM Studio was founded in 2021 and is run by Guro Sommer and Shawn Arvind.
What started as an idea - to create a space where creative people could work, grow and support each other, has become a living community today.
We built GEM because we believe good work happens when good people share a space.

