City Gazing Aarhus

 Stop by Bispetorv in the evening and look up, where the fascinating light installation ‘City Gazing Aarhus’ maps Aarhus’ development over the past 100 years.

As part of the 60-year celebration of Aarhus Festival, the internationally renowned light artwork City Gazing comes to Aarhus in a special new edition.

Suspended in the sky, this poetic installation offers a bird’s-eye view of the city’s development over the past 100 years, visualized through thousands of points of light and accompanied by a custom-composed soundscape.

This unique version of City Gazing has been developed in collaboration with Den Gamle By, ensuring historical accuracy and local relevance. Together with the Amsterdam-based studio VOUW, known for their concept of “slowtech,” the team has traced the urban footprint of Aarhus — from early streets and rail lines to modern city planning — and translated it into a large-scale, site-specific light animation.

City Gazing has previously been exhibited in cities like Singapore, Dubai, and Sydney. For Aarhus Festuge, it invites visitors to pause, look up, and reflect on how the city has grown — a glowing memory suspended in the night sky, marking six decades of cultural celebration.

Supported by:
Dronning Margrethes og Prins Henriks Fond
Augustinus Fonden   
Knud Højgaards Fond 
Købmand Herman Sallings Fond