Light in the darkness of Winter
Photos from the Copenhagen Light Festival 2021
We’re stuck at home and we can’t travel, so allow me to share a little color and light in the shape of outdoor art installations. Below are the night pictures I took last month in Copenhagen’s city center, with kids in tow. I hope you like them, and the beauty of crisp and clear nights, thanks to light pollution being minimal nowadays, can be felt through the screen.
February 2021, Copenhagen hosts its fourth annual Light Festival also known as Light Works 2021. It was our second time attending this festival, and it’s probably the safest and likely the only festival we’ll attend this year. But who knows, maybe there’ll be another outdoor and socially distanced festival at some point in the summer.
This year’s festival has ended, and you probably didn’t make it but hopefully next year we can resume travel, and more of us can see the light installations for ourselves.
The festival website has info about the international artists and installations, maps, and routes. Soon they’ll open the application process for next year’s festival. If you’re an artist, you might be interested in looking at how to apply to the artistic program. The festival had several artists with more than one installation, making me wonder if the festival is not known by artists.
The Copenhagen Light Festival takes place annually when Copenhagen is cold and dark. But the festival brings both light and color to the city. The festival also brings people out from the warmth of their homes, in a time where, in Denmark, most people are found indoors.
During the festival, the city was in lockdown due to Covid, but the festival allowed the opportunity to be outside, with something to do. The 34 light installations are somewhat apart allowing for social distancing. Despite being a socially distancing festival, everyone walking around is experiencing the same art and there is a feeling of community with everyone having a combined experience, feeling part of something, and connecting with those around them. These days, that is as good as it gets around here.
There are two light installations that can be seen around the city, and pull you to the center of the Light Works 2021. The first is the light beams on top of the building named “Børsen” (Danish for “The Exchange”). Børsen has been privately owned since 1857 but it was originally built as the Stock Exchange by Christian IV from 1618 to 1624. This was one of my favorite installations and we saw it from a few vantage points and angles. The children had other favorites but they liked it and laughed when they went under the beams.
The second is the green beams halfway up the Tårnet, Copenhagen’s highest tower, part of the Christiansborg Palace. The tower belongs to the Danish Parliament but is open to the public, and it offers a unique and magnificent view to those who live in or are visiting Copenhagen. I still have to try the restaurant at the top, maybe we’ll go once restaurants open up again.
The green thick beams appealed to the children who squealed loudly and excitedly when biking under it.
We went out two nights and stuck to the inner city both times, but we saw different installations each time. We picked nights with clear skies, no rain, and no wind. The festival goes until 22:30/10:30 pm but our children go to bed much earlier than that. We found installations around the harbor, squares, bridges, monuments, facades, and trampolines.
The trampolines were by far the most popular with the children, and they jumped for 30 minutes in three of the five available trampolines. The trampolines had different color lights, patterns, and movements making it interesting to the children, who like jumping on the trampolines even without lights.
Being outside as a family under the stars was lovely... until they got cranky!
The next favorite installation, according to the children and adults alike, was the wonderful wave installation.
The children loved running through the installation, up and down, and taking pictures next to the lights, and seeing their hands and faces turn different colors. This installation reflects beautifully in the water and makes the waterfront look really warm and inviting.
The light shows off the winter night cityscape in unexpected ways, and you can follow the flow of colors, movement, and occasionally sound through the city from square to square. The installations that photograph better are not always the ones that are most expressive and fun when you are appreciating them live. It says on the Copenhagen Light Festival website that the festival allows for contemplation and meditation but whoever wrote that didn’t go with young children. I would describe it as fun instead.
The Danes love all things light and are world renown for their light fixtures and lighting culture so these displays and art installations make perfect sense in this city.
The art displays are best photographed with a camera, tripod, and time for long exposures, but with children in the tail, that would be unrealistic and no such equipment was used. All these pictures were taken with my iPhone, rather quickly, although I did manage to take a few pictures with 3-second exposures, propped on bridges while keeping everyone relatively quiet and happy around the usual time of dinner and bedtime. It’s amazing how much they snack even though we had early dinner before going out!
Hopefully, next year, when the children are a little older, and a little less cranky at their bedtime, we can see them all! See you next year?
