This event is a Nordic Spotlight, part of Nordic Bridges.
Overview
Great Minds is a dynamic monument that praises the birth of ideas and relates to all creative people. Light work appears in the form of two monumental brains in dialogue, performing active, luminous brainstorming – the unavoidable phase of each creative process – and figuratively using light to emphasize births of unique ideas and sparkling activities of all great minds. Great Minds was first presented in 2021 at Nobel Week Lights in Stockholm, Sweden with the support of GVA, Control Dept and Rebel Light.
About Aleksandra Stratimirovic
Aleksandra Stratimirovic graduated in Applied Arts and Design at the University of Arts in Belgrade. She completed her studies in specialized lighting design at the University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Konstfack and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Stratimirovic has broad knowledge and understanding of light and lighting technologies, and she is also the author of temporary and permanent light-art installations for numerous public places in Sweden and abroad. Her works include “Transmission” for the World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station, Sweden, “You Are The Dream” in Gothenburg, “Northern Lights” Jardin du Palais Royal, Paris and participation in the Amsterdam Light Festival. She has received numerous awards and recognitions. Her light works are exhibited worldwide, most recently at the NOOR Riyadh Festival, the National Museum in Stockholm and the Skopje Light Art District.
Partnership Festival: Nobel Week Lights
Nobel Week Lights is initiated and produced by Annika Levin, Alexandra Manson and Lara Szabo Greisman from Troika. The initiative collaborates with the Nobel Prize Museum with support from the City of Stockholm, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and the Swedish Space Agency, and many other partners and lighting companies. Inspired by Nobel Prize-awarded discoveries and laureates, stunning artworks light up the darkness of the streets of Stockholm each year during the Nobel Week.
About Fjord Studio
Fjord Studio is a creative studio dedicated to bringing the magic of light art into people’s lives. Fjord Studio curates and produces light art projects for cultural events, urban spaces, architecture and stage. Based in Oslo, the studio works globally and produces the best in light art. The studio collaborates with renowned Norwegian and international light artists and new talents, experienced technical teams and international partners. With projections on buildings, intimate installations, site-specific light sculptures and immersive video art, the studio’s work is a broad exploration of light art. Together with their artists and customers, the studio works towards a shared vision to create meaningful, inspiring and memorable experiences of light and art. Fjord Studio has been developed by artist and curator Anastasia Isachsen and producer Frank Isachsen, the team behind the light art festival Fjord Oslo. Since 2020, their work has expanded to conceptualize, produce and communicate various types of temporary and permanent projects at the intersection of art and technology – in Norway and internationally. Ongoing projects include the annual light art festival Fjord Oslo, the new light art initiative Fjord Geiranger in Geiranger and Nordic Lights – a collaborative project with Harbourfront Centre and light art festivals in Denmark, Sweden and Finland, in addition to several smaller projects.
Creative Audio Response
Kristín Ragna Gunnarsdóttir, Author of the Creative Response
Kristín Ragna Gunnarsdóttir, Author of the Creative Response
Kristín Ragna Gunnarsdóttir is an Icelandic author, illustrator, curator and teacher. She studied graphic design and painting at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and a Masters of Arts degree in Creative Writing from The University of Iceland. She was a guest student at The University of Copenhagen.
Gunnarsdóttir has written 11 books and illustrated innumerable others. She has curated many interactive exhibitions and illustrated the Njal’s Saga Tapestry, amongst other projects.
She has received the Icelandic illustrator’s award twice and has been nominated for the Icelandic Literature Prize, the Nordic Council Literature prize, the Women’s Literature Prize, the West-Nordic Literature Prize and the In Other Words prize.
Gunnarsdóttir has participated in exhibitions in Iceland, Germany, the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia, Scotland and the U.S.A. She teaches creative writing at The University of Iceland, illustration at The Reykjavík School of Visual Art and has facilitated creative workshops in many countries.
Andre Sills, Voice Actor
Andre Sills is a Hamilton-based actor, director, producer and writer. He has spent most of his career working in the theatre across the country. He most recently made his directorial debut at Crow’s Theatre directing Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ GLORIA (an Actors Repertory Company production). He spent seven seasons at Stratford, where he played Bottom in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, opening the new Tom Patterson Theatre Parking Lot under a tent. He also played the title character in the 2018 Stratford hit Coriolanus directed by the world-renowned Robert Lepage, and was in the top 10 shows of 2018 in the Washington Post and The Globe and Mail.
In addition, he spent four seasons at The Shaw Festival where he played Tom in The Glass Menagerie and received the My Entertainment World Best Actor Award for his work in An Octoroon, Dora Award and Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Actor for his work in Master Harold and the Boys. He has also worked at Soulpepper Theatre where he toured across the country with Kim’s Convenience and also played Othello at The Black Rep in St. Louis, Missouri. Sills is a Resident Artist with The Actors Repertory Company.