The study aims to examine international protest art in a local cultural policy context. The exhibition Pussy Riot and the Cossacks – Russian Tradition of Art Resistance opened in June, 2014. The study examines the exhibition process along with the reactions the exhibition gave rise to. The methods used consists of idea- and reception analysis where Geir Vestheim's ideal types about instrumental culture is used along with the concept of the arm lengths priciple. Study shows that there are differences in the opinions on the uses of art between the art gallery and its funding agencies Norrbottens läns landsting and Bodens kommun. Study also shows that the specific local context of the exhibition Pussy Riot and the Cossacks together with the viewers previous experiences plays a part in how the exhibition is percieved.