Free light festival draws thousands to Copenhagen’s dark nights

During dark February nights can a city like Copenhagen seem like an inadequate place for an evening walk. Especially when the wind makes minus five degrees feel like minus fifteen. At Kongens Nytorv there is another type of atmosphere. People standing still, like they are frozen by the cold weather. With sparkling eyes and a curious expression. The reflection in their eyes reveals a big object made of light. The distorted glitch sound is mixed with the sound of the wind. Something that draws people in like moth to a lightbulb.

“The sound is catching my attention to stay for a longer while, not just to pass by,” says Evelyn Moran, 35, who is one of the visitors at Kongens Nytorv.

Hundreds of applicants

Copenhagen light festival is an annual light festival that illuminates the city during three weeks in February. The programme includes for example sculptures, projection mappings, different types of events and installations connected to illumination. The creators can be everything from organizations and established light artists to students and upcoming artists in the field. An elected committee of art curators chooses which art to show every year.

“We have an open call in the spring and for last year we had like 400 applications and we can only choose around 45,” says Frederikke Krogh.

Frederikke further explains that they do have high prestige artists, artists that live on their work, with installations all over the world. But they also want to make sure to have space for the young artists, the up and comers. The idea is to move the art out in the open for everyone to experience.

 “We’re bringing out light in one of the darkest and coldest months and it's very relevant to us that it's free. We take the art out of the museums to be experienced in the public space,” says Frederikke Krogh.

Volunteers make the difference

The festival has a lot of unpaid volunteers working on the project. The goal according to the organisation is not to make money and the profit goes into the next year's festival. Two young men that are cheerful volunteers during the festival in the cold winter night are Anton Haslund-Christensen, 23, and Villas Mathis Runge Spliedt, 23. In a blue steel container equipped with a full kitchen are they selling hot chocolate with canned whipped cream. The container is there on behalf of the local men’s bath club. Both think that the festival has seen a slight decline in quality since last year.

 “It's weird because usually they're only, they're adding lights, new installations, new lights. But this year they seem to have reduced the amount of light art,” says Villas Mathis Runge Spliedt.

Anton Haslund-Christensen thinks that this year's weather makes visitors move quickly between the installations. He still thinks it's a very good initiative because it brings light to the dark winter in the city and difficult times around the world right now. Something which he means is the purpose of the festival as well.

“Having the lights lighting up and bringing an evasion of the darkness. An escape from the darkness. Yeah, that's a quote,” says Villas Mathis Runge Spliedt and laughs.

Art creates feelings

Frederikke Krogh do recall some emotional memories from last year’s festival. At Vestre Kirkegård in southern Copenhagen, an artist did put up an art piece for the Ukrainian refugees. Many of the Ukrainians visiting and a lot of other people were very emotional and touched by the art. To give hope through the art and letting people experience their city in a new light is something that Frederikke means is part of the festival.

“The main idea with the festival is to bring light in the dark and to use the space, let people see the city in a different, in a new way,” Frederikke concludes.

This story is meant for an international audience and could be published in The Guardian Culture.