Interpreting the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Through Sculpture

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Nobel Peace Center is a museum dedicated to peace, inspired by the work and legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Through exhibitions, learning programs, and public engagement, we promote knowledge and understanding of peace, dialogue, and the individuals and organizations that have contributed to building a more peaceful world.

In December 2027, the Nobel Peace Center will open a new permanent exhibition (working title: Crafting Peace), which will become the heart of the museum for years to come. The exhibition explores the idea that peace is not a fixed state, but an ongoing process. Peace is something we create, shape, negotiate, and maintain together. It is a continuous act of imagination, commitment, and work.

As part of this exhibition, we are inviting 143 artists, both emerging and established, to create small sculptures, not exceeding 10 cm in height, as sculptural interpretations of the 143 Nobel Peace Prize laureates awarded to date. Each artist will be commissioned to create one sculpture representing the peace work of a single laureate.

THE VISION
The sculptures will form visitors’ first encounter with the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Displayed together on a large wooden table, the collection will present the full history of the Nobel Peace Prize and the many different ways peace work has been understood over the past 125 years.
Each year, a new sculpture will be added to the collection to represent that year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Together, the sculptures will create a diverse and global representation of peacebuilding across cultures, generations, and political contexts.
The sculptures are intended to function as more than artworks. Each bronze figure will contain a hidden NFC chip and serve as a digital key within the exhibition. Visitors will be able to pick up a sculpture and carry it through the exhibition, where it will unlock stories, biographies, historical context, critical perspectives, and information about the laureate’s peace work.
The resulting collection will be both a sculptural landscape and a living archive, offering visitors multiple ways to engage with the history, complexity, and continuing relevance of the Nobel Peace Prize.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We seek a diverse cohort of established and emerging artists from around the world. We welcome applications from practitioners working across disciplines, including but not limited to sculpture, installation, design, architecture, ceramics, digital art, performance, and visual arts.
Artists do not need to be trained sculptors. The Nobel Peace Center will oversee the bronze casting process. However, applicants must be able to produce a sufficiently detailed physical or digital model that can be translated into bronze by our fabrication partners.
In keeping with Alfred Nobel’s vision of the Peace Prize as a global award, we aim to build an artist cohort that reflects a broad range of geographic, cultural, and artistic perspectives.
The invitation will be distributed through a network of partner art spaces, cultural institutions, artist-led organizations, and professional networks internationally.

Application Process
Artists interested in participating are invited to submit:

• A short biography (150-250 words)
• 5-10 images of previous work
• A curriculum vitae (maximum two pages)
• A statement (maximum 500 words) adressing
  • Why you are interested in participating in this project
  • What peace means to you
  • Why you wish to engage with the legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize
  • Which three categories of peace work resonate most strongly with your practice, ranked in order of preference.

Applicants will also have the opportunity to identify any laureates, themes, conflicts, or historical subjects they may find difficult to engage with due to personal, political, ethical, or lived-experience considerations.

For more information see the pdf document.

Submissions are warmly welcomed at cmca@nobelpeacecenter.org.

Please use the subject line: Artist Collaboration Opportunity: Bronze Figures Project