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Nights of Enlightenment


Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen

Explore unknown lands, fly high on castles in the air, learn coquettry or understand how to be a man! In September 2010 the Museum of Copenhagen invited to Nights of Enlightenment in a salon created by the artist group Ingen Frygt (No Fear).

In connection to the Golden Days festival “1700s - globalization, gossip and greed” the Museum of Copenhagen reinvented the salon in a unique collaboration with the artist group Ingen Frygt.

Ingen Frygt does Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen

Get wiser and have fun at the same time

The old gilded banquet hall of the Museum of Copenhagen provided the backdrop as the artist group Ingen Frygt activated nine years back catalogue in a lavish pell-mell of draperies mixed with artefacts from the museum’s  collections and flotsam from the 1700’s Copenhagen’s subconscious. Here we continued some of the Enlightenment’s controversial dialogues, not necessarily to reach an answer, but to get wiser trying. At the completely sold-out Nights one could experience learned discussions, skewed angles, touching music and explosive tastes: it was the 1700s in 2010, in the heart of Copenhagen.

Terra Incognita
Wednesday September 8th, 2010,  7-9 pm.
Exploration and expeditions far beyond the maps’ borders. We talked about seeking borders and embracing the unknown. Among the guests were Rane Willerslev, anthropologist and adventurer, and Milena Penkowa, brain researcher. New circus artistes from Akademiet for Utæmmet Kreativitet (The Academy for Untamed Creativity) challenged teh laws of nature and we enjoyed an exotic cup of tea from  Tante T.

Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen
Akademiet For Utæmmet Kreativitet made the audience gasp as they explored the beautiful old chandeliers of the banquet hall at the Museum of Copenhagen. Foto: Caspar Miskin.

Utopias & Castles in the Air
Wednesday September 15th, 2010, 7-9 pm.
What does the best possible world look like? Who creates it - and how? We discussed new and old suggestions for other societies. Among others we met theatre director Christoffer Berdal and Jacob Ludvigsen, senior editor and among the creators of both Christiania and the Thy Camp. Juuls Vinhandel served wonderful Barbados rum, we listened to the beautiful voice of musical performer Mette Skovmark and were inspired by Annika Lewis’ performance workshop Let’s Get Personal.

Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen
Annika Lewis coached the audience in her performance workshop “Let’s Get Personal”. Foto: Caspar Miskin.

Coquettry
Wednesday September 22nd, 2010, 7-9 pm.
Through our clothing, attitudes and manners we tell our surroundingsa how we wish to be perceived.
We investigated what lies behind this self-presentation. Among the guests were Eva Kruse, CEO for Copenhagen Fashion Week, and Christian Have, creative director of Have Kommunikation. Hannah Corine performed belly dance and Christoffer Gertz Bech from Absinthium, the Danish Absinthe Society, introduced us to the green fairy.

Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen
Belly dancer Hannah enchant the guests at the Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen. Foto: Caspar Miskin.

Manliness
Wednesday September 29th,  2010,  7-9 pm.
How is one a man? We tried to uncover and understand the masculine. Among others we heard film director Saskia Bisp, creator of the prize winning documentary Nobody Passes Perfectly, a film about love and gender identity, and anthropologist Bjarke Oxlund, who among other things has worked with masculinity in Rwanda and South Africa. Countertenor Valdemar Villadsen sang for us and Juuls Vinhandel served a glass of wine.

Nights of Enlightenment at the Museum of Copenhagen
Countertenor Valdemar Villadsen and pianist Ulrich Stærk receive a well-earned applause after having introduced the audience to the magic of baroque music. Foto: Caspar Miskin.

 

 

Read more about Golden Days

Read more about Ingen Frygt