Today, the Nobel Peace Center hosted an event where the new Nobel Peace Prize diploma was unveiled. The event included a lecture by Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jørgen Watne Frydnes and a discussion with experts about the significance of the prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo.
Yesterday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. The organisation received the prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again, stated the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
In addition to the prize money and gold medal, the laureate will receive a diploma during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December. The design of the diploma changes each year, and this year’s motif, created by renowned Danish-Norwegian artist Marie Buskov, was unveiled during the event at the Nobel Peace Center today.
“The artwork is an abstract painting about freedom, choices and imagination. There have been moments during the past year when making art seemed hopeless. In the process of making the diploma, I was reminded that I have to use what I possess, my creative freedom. It is a freedom I will never take for granted”, said Marie Buskov.
The abstract artwork was created before the laureate’s name was disclosed.
“It is somehow mysterious to create a diploma without knowing the receiver of it, but I am not sure if it would have been any easier if I knew”, said Buskov.
After the unveiling, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, held a lecture about the new peace prize.
“We are talking about abstract art, and the concept of nuclear war is abstract to many. The Hibakusha* has helped us understand the concept of the unthinkable. It is important to establish a norm, to let people know. The work of the Hibakusha has been done on a global scale and they have dedicated their lives to making sure that this will not happen again”
– Jørgen Watne Frydnes
Joining the event on link, member of Nihon Hidankyo, Masako Wada, stated that the announcement came as a big surprise and emphasized that the Nobel Peace Prize is a chance to spread the word about the organisation’s work. “We are overjoyed, overjoyed”, said Wada on link from Japan.
This was followed by a discussion about this year’s peace prize with a panel of experts on the topic: Tuva Krogh Widskjold from Leger mot atomvåpen and ICAN Norway, Kjølv Egeland, senior researcher NORSAR, and Mika Mayumi, leader of local organisation No to Nuclear Weapons, partner of ICAN.
“The prize is extremely timely and very well deserved. We had to stop everything we were doing yesterday to tell the world the importance of the Hibakusha’s work”, said Tuva Krogh Widskjold from ICAN Norway.
*Hibakusha is the Japanese word for the surviving victims of the atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Marie Buskov (b. 1980 in Denmark) has established herself on the Norwegian art scene with her dynamic abstract paintings, murals, and sculptures in bronze and aluminum. Her works come together in elegant and intricate installations. Buskov studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 2001 to 2005 and holds an MFA from the Oslo Art Academy, where she studied from 2005 to 2009. She has completed several public art projects, including stained glass windows and sculptures, with her most extensive work being for Sola Church in 2020. Her artwork is part of collections such as the National Museum of Norway, Kunstsilo, Lillehammer Art Museum, and the Oslo Municipality’s art collection. Buskov lives and works in Oslo.