World-famous architectural firm celebrates 49 Danish ‘queens’ with art installation

‘50 Queens’ is the name of a new open-air sculptural installation on the central square Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The artwork is celebrating 49 historical Danish women (list in Danish), who each have a pillar with a QR code on them for the viewers to learn more. It’s the Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group who’ve created the temporary installation which has been curated by the Danish art gallery Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Among the women celebrated are the Danish author Karen Blixen, Denmark’s first minister Nina Bang and the zoologist and explorer Marie Hammer who identified 1000 new species of the moss mites and helped support the continental drift theory.
 

The pillars are called pedestals and the number 50 is without a name, so it can be anyone you’d like it to be. Via a digital platform, it’s also possible to contribute to an infinite list of women and their untold stories. The purpose of the installation is to focus on the absence of statues of women in public spaces and to honour women in the Copenhagen city space and in history. A jury dedicated to the selection process have chosen the 49 women who have had a significant impact on Danish history. The Danish Queen Margrethe II was there for the opening, which is part of the Golden Days Festival. The festival is running from 2nd to 18th of September, and this year it marks the 50th jubilee of the Queen of Denmark’s accession to the throne with an entire festival named QUEENS. Around 100,000 visitors are expected to see the installation.

Read more about the 50th jubilee celebrations for the Danish Queen Margrethe II.

In 2023, Copenhagen will be the UNESCO World capital of Architecture, read more about the events.