At a time when war dominates the news headlines, the Nobel Peace Center is putting peace on the agenda through a new series of exhibitions exploring a fundamental question: What is peace?
The first exhibition in the Nobel Peace Center’s new five‑year series about peace is titled Paths to Peace. Opening to the public on Friday 24 April, the exhibition explores how peace has been understood, defined, and practiced throughout history.
Visitors will, for the first time in an exhibition, be able to experience selected works from the extensive library of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, read historic peace treaties, and listen to Nobel Peace Prize laureates reflect on their own paths to peace. The exhibition also features three contemporary video works offering artistic reflections on peace in today’s world, created by Adel Abidin, Marisa Srijunpleang, and Katya Buchatska.
When war is seen as the answer
“We live in a time when talking about peace is almost seen as naïve,” says Kjersti Fløgstad, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Center. “As the number of conflicts reaches record highs and more leaders point to war as the only solution, the value of working for peace is increasingly questioned. In this landscape, it’s crucial that someone speaks up loudly and clearly to say that peace is possible. At the Nobel Peace Center, we want to create space for these conversations. And we invite everyone to join us in talking more about peace.”
Over the next five years, and through five exhibitions, the Nobel Peace Center will explore what peace has been, what it is today, and what it could become in the future. Audiences are invited to take part alongside artists, researchers, and other experts, engaging with different perspectives, reflecting together, and contributing to an ongoing conversation.
The goal is to raise awareness of the complexity of peace and empower people to actively participate in public debate and peace‑building efforts.
“In a world increasingly preparing for war, we need places that take peace seriously,” Fløgstad adds.“Not as a slogan or a distant dream, but as a political, social, and deeply human project.”
Notes to editors
- Paths to Peace opens to the public on Friday, 24 April, and will be on view until April 2027.
- Official press opening: Thursday, 23 April (by invitation only). Media representatives wishing to attend must register via Ingvill Bryn Rambøl: [email protected]
At the same time, the Nobel Peace Center presents the photography exhibition A City of Ghosts, in collaboration with Plan International Norway. The exhibition features photographs from Gaza taken by Plan International ambassador Fatma Hassona before she was killed in an airstrike in April 2025.