Policy enactment in education is a highly complex process. Previous studies suggest that time constraints, a comprehensive syllabus, and goal-oriented management in schools can exacerbate difficulties in selecting content at the school/classroom level. This study focuses on aspects that have not received as much attention: the formation of subject content in the contextualization process, using a school subject (Art) that is not aligned with a specific academic discipline as an example. To gain new knowledge about how a subject content is formed as it is renegotiated in different policy levels, Bernstein’s theory of the pedagogical device was used when policy documents and transcribed interviews were analysed; the interviews were conducted with art teachers and two Officials from the National Agency for Education during ten months as a new curriculum was implemented. The findings suggests that the lack of affiliation with a specific academic discipline enables significant changes in subject content. Moreover, the renegotiation of policy, and hence subject content, is profoundly influenced by societal changes and ideologies in the official recontextualization field. Additionally, the strong internal classification of the Art subject significantly influences content selection in the pedagogical recontextualization field. In the context of Nordic education systems, this study holds particular relevance. The Nordic countries, while sharing many similarities in their educational philosophies, also exhibit differences. Despite the increasing influence of New Public Management principles in some countries, all Nordic nations maintain a tradition where teachers play a crucial role in interpreting curriculum and transforming it into teaching at the classroom level. This study's results contribute new insights pertinent across the Nordic countries. Highlighting how different principles at different policy levels can shape subject content and even offer space for resistance at the school level, which gives hope in a time when teachers' autonomy is decreasing due to mechanisms of goal- and result management.