The Nobel Week Lights festival has been under way since 3 December to welcome Stockholm residents and visitors to join in celebrating the Nobel Week. It includes riding on illuminated seesaws in Charles XII Square and singing at the Stockholm Cathedral, which affects the artistic work on the façade. At the Royal Palace, spectators will be astounded by a luminous globe.
Here are five of the works featured in the Nobel Week Lights festival. Photos by Benoît Derrier.
One innovation this year is that the Royal Palace will feature an artistic light installation. British artist Luke Jerram’s luminous globe “Gaia” will be visible in the Southern Archway. The installation is one of several that have been designed to inspire awe for the planet we live on and to encourage environmental awareness.
Outside the Grand Hôtel, Alexander Wolfe has created the installation “Kinesthesia”. Wolfe was inspired by the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which was awarded to Ardem Patapoutian and David Julius for “their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch”.
The artwork “WAVE-FIELD” on Karl den XII:s torg (Charles XII Square) was inspired by balance, seriality and the way that weight, regardless of size, affects movement. This relates to the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was awarded to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for “the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass”. The artwork was created by CS Design, Lateral Office and Mitchell Akiyama.
“Orchestrated entities_ Chorus” at Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral) invites choirs and individuals to become part of the artwork. Their voices trigger sparks of light against the iconic architecture of the cathedral. The artwork is connected to 1930 peace prize laureate Bishop Nathan Söderblom, who was awarded the prize for his work on “unity and helping create a new attitude of mind which is necessary if peace between nations is to become reality”. The artist is Tove Alderin.
Participating artists and lighting designers
Alexander Wolfe, Atelier BK, Beckmans College of Design, CS Design + Lateral Office + Mitchell Akiyama, Daniel Rybakken, Emma Hjortenklev Wassberg, Eva Beierheimer, Jim Farula, Johan Thurfjell, Jönköping University + Royal College of Music, Julia Dantonnet, Koros, Kroft + Smids, Luke Jerram, Masamichi Shimada, Philip Nilsson, Rethread, Smash Studios, Stockholm University + University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Tove Alderin plus Fredrik Jönsson who will illuminate Ai WeiWei’s sculpture outside Nationalmuseum (the National Museum of Arts and Design).
Locations with artistic light installations
ArkDes, Bofills Båge (a crescent-shaped apartment building near Medborgplatsen), Grand Hôtel, Gustav Adolfs torg (a square in front of the Royal Opera), Karl den Xll:s torg (a park behind the Royal Opera), Royal Institute of Technology, Liljevalch Art Gallery, National Museum of Art and Design, Nobel Prize Museum, Raoul Wallenbergs torg (a square near Nybroplan), Serafimerstranden (a waterside park near City Hall), Sergels torg (a central square), Skeppsholmen (an island near the city centre), Stockholm City Hall, Stockholm City Museum, Stockholm Royal Palace, the Great Synagogue of Stockholm, Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral) and Tyska Kyrkan (the German Church).
About Nobel Week Lights
Nobel Week Lights was initiated and produced by Annika Levin, Alexandra Manson, Lara Szabo Greisman and Troika AB. The event is part of the Nobel Week programme and is being implemented by the Nobel Prize Museum with support from the City of Stockholm, the Erling-Persson Foundation, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce as well as numerous other partners and artistic lighting companies. Nobel Week Lights is a tribute to the Nobel Prize laureates and their contributions to the greatest benefit to humankind.
The Nobel Week Lights festival is possible thanks to
Stockholms Stad, Erling-Perssons Foundation, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Stockholm’s Chamber of Commerce, Raoul Wallenberg Academy, The Barbro Osher Foundation, FAM, Grand Hôtel, Embassy of Canada to Sweden, Signify, World Jewish Congress, På Sergelstorg, Stockholm Konst, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Beckmans Design Högskola, Control Dept. , Erco, Fergin, Hamn AB, Institut francais de Suède, Konstfack, KTH, Rebel Light, Stockholm Lighting, Svenska Kyrkan, Stockholm Capital of Scandinavia, Stromma, KMH, Wasp, Jönkopping University, Stockholm University, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, BRF Bågen and Lite Nordic Spaces.