Nordiska museet in Stockholm is home to some six million photographs documenting life across the Nordic region, from the mid-19th century until today — work, homes, traditions and everyday moments. The exhibition Nordic Moments brings more of this archive to the public, across seven rooms.
Only a small fraction of the collection had ever been on public display. The museum wanted visitors to explore far more of it, while keeping the intimate feel of leafing through a traditional photo album – for an audience ranging from young children to visitors in their nineties. The technology had to stay in the background, letting the photographs take centre stage and blending naturally into the exhibition design.
In the room Photo Albums of Nordic Life, PIXILAB Blocks drives a set of interactive digital albums. Square 22" Bluefin touchscreens are mounted in custom-made, book-shaped wooden frames, so visitors simply take a seat and turn the pages with a tap. Each album is a curated theme – from changing seasons and daily routines to that perennial favourite, cats – combining photographs with short texts. Content is drawn from the museum's collection database, and new albums are published and scheduled through Blocks. With the player built into each screen, the displays sit fully enclosed in their frames, and visitors can browse thousands of photographs at their own pace.
MATTI SHEVCHENKO SANDIN
Producer, Nordiska museet
Projected across the walls of the exhibition's projection rooms, a slowly scrolling mosaic of photographs gives visitors a sense of the sheer scale of the archive. Like the albums, it runs on PIXILAB Blocks, with images drawn from the museum's collection database. In total, six Optoma projectors – four short-throw ZK810TST and two UHZ68LV – are placed throughout the exhibition, all driven by PIXILAB Players.
Working with PIXILAB, the museum team keeps the content consistent and simple, regularly pushing out new albums for visitors to explore. The technology supports the exhibition concept without becoming its focus. Nordic Moments shows how digital technology can expand access to a cultural collection while remaining sensitive to its subject matter and setting.
Client: Nordiska museet
Interactive displays: Bluefin International
Projectors: Optoma
Local Distributor: VISONO
Photography: Hendrik Zeitler
