Fotografiska: A photographic experience for all of your senses

By John Sempill

A visit to Fotografiska should be top of your list during your stay in Stockholm. Here, you can experience photography from some of the top photographers in the world, including local and up-and-coming talent. Fotografiska also offers Michelin Guide Green Star awarded food, with some of the best complementary views in town.

Yet, there’s more than meets the eye at Fotografiska. Executive director Elin Frendberg explains why: “We want to use it as a platform to inspire a more conscious world. From art and photography, to the food we serve. It’s been in our DNA since the beginning.”

Fotografiska: A photographic experience for all of your senses

Photo: © Cig Harvey, Azaleas Pressing, Rockport, Maine, 2018

Speaking of the food they serve, the Michelin Guide Green Star-awarded plant-based kitchen received the highest rating by 360 Eat Guide in 2021, for their gastronomy and push for sustainable cuisine. “In our restaurant we serve a ‘no waste’, five-course menu, with local drinks,” Frendberg continues. “It’s a window into how we might eat in the future, with locally sourced ingredients in season.”

Fotografiska also boasts its own mussel farm on Sweden’s west coast, farmland on the outskirts of Stockholm, and a hydroponic farm in its own basement. “This means we can work locally and sustainably,” explains Frendberg. “We are very proud of our innovative team of chefs, with experience from restaurants such as Noma and Frantzén. A restaurant visit here will guarantee new ideas and perspectives. The menus are like tales, telling the story of Swedish produce, with a glimpse into the future.”

Photo: © Lori Nix & Kathleen Gerber, Botanic Garden

Renowned and emerging artists

New additions this season include the exhibitions In Bloom, with 16 renowned photographers interpreting nature in new ways, and the acclaimed photographer Diana Markosian’s gripping exhibition Santa Barbara. “She displays her childhood move from Moscow to California,” explains Frendberg. “Another new and interesting element is a collage by Hungarian pioneer Moholy-Nagy. In the new project Emerging Artists, up-and-coming local talents are given a forum to display their own work.”

The Swedish photographer Alexander Wessely’s exhibition Kortex opens on May 12. This is his most extensive exhibition to date – well worth a look. And later this year, Fotografiska will be opening in Berlin, in addition to the Fotografiska in Stockholm, Tallinn and New York. Since you’re reading this article, chances are, you’ll either be in Stockholm or hoping to visit soon, so complete your visit to Fotografiska with a trip in the electric powered Fotografiska boat, taking you from Nybrokajen all the way to the harbour entrance. Can’t summer be here already?!