Stockholm's night sky is lit up.

With the Nobel Banquet approaching, art installations inspired by the scientific discoveries, literature and peace work of Nobel Prize laureates are illuminating the city.

It's an invitation to the public to step outside during the darkest time of the year.

The festival, presented by the Nobel Prize Museum, brings together international and local artists, designers and students to create large-scale public light artworks across Stockholm.

Lara Szabo Greisman is one of the founders of Nobel Week Lights and this year’s director.

“We really want to create a sense of joy and hopefully even a sense of inspiration, if it's possible. One wonderful thing with Nobel Week Lights is that we light up the city at the darkest time, and we invite everyone to come and celebrate during the Nobel Week together with us," she says.

Every year, artists look to Nobel discoveries and achievements for their inspiration.

“So what's special with Nobel Week Lights is that every year, the artists are inspired by Nobel laureates' discoveries. And so each of the artworks is actually inspired by those contributions. This year we have noticed that a lot of the artists are gravitating towards themes around peace. And we think that makes sense in terms of the global conversation that is happening right now,” says Greisman.

One installation, “One Way or Another,” highlights Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ralph Bunche.

Bunche, an American political scientist and diplomat, played a key role in the civil rights movement and in the formation of the United Nations.

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, he said in his lecture: “The road to peace can never be traversed by threatening to fight at every bend.”

Those words are echoed in artist Tom Biddulph’s installation.

Using the visual language of everyday road signs, the artwork creates a message of hope — the shared direction for the future.

Greisman and two colleagues launched the festival during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Now, fingers crossed, we might see more than a million visitors this year. So the festival just keeps blooming. And it's so touching to see that the festival belongs to so many people, and that there's so many different experiences to be had in the festival. So we're so touched and moved to be able to welcome this many people into a celebration,” she says.

The art attracts people from all walks of life.

Nineteen installations are on display in central Stockholm and Tensta until December 14th.