Deeper than Light at the Festival of Lights in Essen, Germany

Following its stay in Portugal, MAR-ECO’s travelling exhibition “Deeper than Light”, continued to Germany and Essen where it opened Wednesday 17 October. The exhibition will be staying in Haus der Tecnhik in the centre of the city and is a part of a major annual event in Essen, the Festival of Lights.

by Jo Høyer

This Festival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from far and wide each year to Essen. As Norway is the guest country of the festival this year, this is an excellent opportunity to show "Deeper than Light" , with its German title; "In Lichtlose tiefen".

Uwe Piatkowski with some visitors to "Deeper than Light"

The German contribution
“Beautiful! Astonishing! and amazing!” were expressions from visitors at the opening. Deep sea life really fascinates people living in some distance from the coast.

Around 100 guests attended the opening on Wednesday evening which was hosted by the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin together with the host venue, Haus der Technik. The Deputy Mayor of Essen, Rolf Fliess, and Deputy Head of Mission, Andreas Gaarder, from the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin were among those giving speeches.

Professor Uwe Piatkowsky, a member of the MAR-ECO Steering Committee, gave a brief presentation of the MAR-ECO project, as well as some results relating to the German contribution in the project with highlights from the GOSars cruise of summer 2004. As it travels around to different countries, the international exhibition provides an excellent opportunity for presenting results and contributions from the international MAR-ECO partners.

Haus der Technik is located in the centre of the city of Essen, close to the main streets and the railway station, and it is expected that there will be many visitors to the exhibition.  “Deeper than Light” will show in Essen until 14 December.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry and Kongsberg Maritime have provided critical support to MAR-ECO’s travelling exhibition initiative, making it possible for this international tour to take place.

Read the press release.