Everything a Book Can Be
For this year’s Culture Night, the Royal Danish Library opens the doors of the Black Diamond as a vibrant cultural venue for visitors of all ages.
Under the heading Everything a Book Can Be, visitors can explore the book’s many forms and meanings – as cultural heritage, craftsmanship, sensory experience, technology and storytelling.
The evening’s programme features a range of activities that bring the library’s collections, history and expertise into play in new and unexpected ways. Visitors can explore, try things for themselves and get closer to the world of books.
Address
Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1,
1221 København K
https://www.kb.dk/
Time
18:00 - 00:00
Event type
Accessibility
Area
Associated events
Guided tour in Danish
Discover what cultural heritage and treasures held in our collections. We begin in the Black Diamond and continuing into the Holm Building from 1906. Learn about the architecture, history, cultural activities and work of the Library – what we collect, preserve and make accessible. Collect tickets from 18 in our shop. There is room for 20 people.
Guided tour in English
Discover what cultural heritage and treasures held in our collections. We begin in the Black Diamond and continuing into the Holm Building from 1906. Learn about the architecture, history, cultural activities and work of the Library – what we collect, preserve and make accessible. Collect tickets from 18 in our shop. There is room for 20 people.
Children
Especially for children and their accompanying adults, the Royal Danish Library presents a creative workshop where you can make your own bookmarks. We have visited the bookbinders’ workshop and found beautiful old materials for decorating them. You can also design your own ex libris – a unique and personal bookplate to place inside your books.
Music
Experience the award-winning duo Dybfølt perform evening songs from the Danish Folk High School Songbook, transforming the Atrium of the Black Diamond into a cathedral of sound through the space’s 12-channel loudspeaker system.
Journey into literature with the DR Archive.
Across three rooms, you can explore the literary worlds of the different decades and discover how books and authors have left their mark on radio and television. Through sound and images from the DR Archive, we explore how literature has been interpreted, brought to life and transformed into new formats over time.
The Women’s Reading Association returns!
The Women’s Reading Association (1872–1962) gave women access to the literature and newspapers of the day and also ran a hotel and restaurant for women. The association was a meeting place for many prominent women who were active in cultural life and the women’s movement. Experience the atmosphere of the association for one evening!
Sara Alfort on prominent women in Danish
Join Sara Alfort as she talks about the women writers and artists who were part of the community surrounding the Women’s Reading Association (1872–1962). At 19.00, Sara Alfort will talk about the writers Victoria Benedictsson and Erna Juel-Hansen.
Sara Alfort on prominent women in Danish
Join Sara Alfort as she talks about the women writers and artists who were part of the community surrounding the Women’s Reading Association (1872–1962). At 20.00, she will introduce the artists Elise Konstantin-Hansen and Sophie Holten.
The Research Reading Room opens its doors
We Invite visitors to discover some of the fascinating books, manuscripts, scrolls, palm-leaf manuscripts and other treasures held in the Royal Danish Library’s extensive collections. Become a reading-room user for the evening, receive your own archive box and try to decipher Gothic handwriting, unfamiliar writing systems and much more.
Preservation Department
Books contain far more than words – hidden in their spines or tucked between their pages are unseen stories waiting to be discovered and told. On Culture Night, you can explore some of the hidden stories encountered by the Royal Danish Library’s Preservation Department in its work with bookbinding and book conservation.
Try Computer Games from the Collection
Computer games are part of our cultural heritage and an important part of the Royal Danish Library’s collection. For Culture Night, we are bringing out a selection of Danish games that, in one way or another, explore books and reading. Visit the gaming station and try some fun and unusual computer games.
Meet Nota Service
How do you read a book if you have a visual impairment or reading disability? Visit Nota Service to learn how to read a book with your fingers and find out more about Nota’s work.
Visit the exhibitions
You can visit the exhibitions at the Black Diamond free of charge. Explore The World Around Us, which examines how we have seen and understood the world through photography. In Photography Now! discover Danish contemporary photography and new perspectives on photography as an art form. Visit TREASURES, which presents a selection from the collection
Outdoor light installation
At both entrances to the Black Diamond, visitors can experience the artist collective Båll & Brand’s light installation Tidsrum on Slotsholmen.