Rovaniemi lightens up with summer decorations

The streets of Rovaniemi are now brightened up thanks to the colourful Arctic Art and Design Summer event now going on.

In addition to the famous Midnight Sun, the beauty of the Finnish Lapland’s capital city has become even more enchanting with disparate art works and outdoor exhibitions started on June 16 and scheduled to run until August 27.

The event, first of its kind, is organised by the Arctic Light Hotel in cooperation with the University of Lapland, the City of Rovaniemi, Rovaniemi Development Ltd, and local artists, among others.

The inspiration of the event came from last Christmas, when the organisers wanted to make use of the remaining cables of Christmas ornamental lighting to create something interesting for tourists and local citizens, said Arctic Light Hotel Marketing Assistant Isabella Gröhn. The plan took a while to become a real summer art exhibition later.

“Although Rovaniemi might strike as a slightly ‘greyish’ city at a first glance, it has a beautiful soul that just needs to be better brought forward,” Isabella told the Daily Finland.

It is true that Rovaniemi has been substantially illuminated by a summer artistic breeze redecorating the whole context, which is commonly considered a wintertime hub. The main theme of the event is the Arctic lights and various other Northern features.

Talking about the colours of Rovaniemi when he first came here, Arctic Light Hotel Marketing Director Lieven De Rycke said, “I was first amazed by the Blue Moment, and wondered what on earth this light is. After that, the First Green Leaves decorated the landscape, followed by the Midnight Sun’s orange and the Northern Lights. Fortunately, all of the mentioned colours are well presented in the event.”

Strolling down the Valtakatu street, people can easily find the artworks inspired by the beautiful Arctic nature, for example, the colourful painted wooden chair, a summerlike Polar bear, a flowery bike or a Lappish reindeer with funny make-up.

Besides, a collection of impressive paintings and statues can be found in the Arctic Light Hotel and the City Council room.

The main aim of the event is to bring joy and happiness to local people and tourists visiting Rovaniemi in summer. “We wanted to create something colourful and fun, and with the emphasis on the beautiful arctic nature as well as the City of Rovaniemi,” Isabella said.

The Arctic Art and Design Summer event is also an opportunity for all the international art and design students at the University of Lapland and local artists to team up and practise their creative minds in making artworks, with an openly collaborative spirit.

After one month since its launch, the event organisers have received a lot of positive feedback from the City Council, tourists, local citizens, and other parties. “We have succeeded in achieving our goal, which was to make people to slow down, enjoy the art and even stay one more night in Rovaniemi,” Isabella said with a happy smile.

The event is also a confirmation of Rovaniemi’s alternative brand, the Arctic Design Capital, where the world’s northernmost design week, Arctic Design Week, is held annually.

With the initial success of the very first Summer Art and Design exhibition, the organisers are full of hope for the next events in other seasons in Rovaniemi.