Open Air Exhibition

Fotografiska takes art to the streets – “Open Air Exhibition” fills Stockholm with photography

Stockholm turns into one big gallery

Stockholm, April 2020 – When the world comes to a halt, Fotografiska chooses to open up. With the Open Air Exhibition, the museum moves art to the streets and turns Stockholm into one big gallery. From April 27 to May 10, fifty photographs by some of the world's most renowned photographers will be displayed on billboards, bus shelters, and bulletin boards throughout the city center – an art experience in the midst of everyday life, open around the clock and accessible to everyone.
The initiative was born out of a desire to continue sharing the power of photography even when Fotografiska is temporarily forced to close due to the Covid pandemic. Together with Clear Channel, the museum is creating an exhibition that meets the audience where they are: outdoors, on the move, on their way to the store or on a walk in the spring sunshine. Each work is accompanied by a QR code that links to stories about the artist and a map of all the works – a digital guide to a physical city walk of around fifteen kilometers.

a new way of experiencing photography

The exhibition brings together works by fifty photographers, including Anton Corbijn, Vee Speers, Mandy Barker, Lennart Nilsson, Albert Watson, Edward Burtynsky, and Andres Serrano. The images showcase the broad range – of Fotografiska's artistic vision from the power of documentary photography to conceptual and visual exploration. By placing art in public spaces, a new way of experiencing photography is created, where the encounter with the image becomes both unexpected and everyday.
“Through Open Air Exhibition, our first outdoor exhibition in Stockholm, we want to contribute in our own way to our shared, upside-down everyday lives. We have always believed, and will always believe, in the power of art – and everyday exercise – even in challenging times,” says Per Broman, founder and CEO of Fotografiska.

The exhibition is accessible to everyone, all day and night, and free of charge. Through the collaboration with Clear Channel, the photographs are displayed in the urban environment in a way that both surprises and comforts—a reminder that art always finds a way, even when museum doors are closed.

The Open Air Exhibition shows how photography can reach people everywhere—on their way to the bus, during a walk, or just in passing—and how art can continue to be present, inspiring, and free.