Royal couple receives 80th birthday gift of a century of future literature to be unwrapped in 2114
For their 80th birthdays, the City of Oslo gave King Harald and Queen Sonja an art piece that will remain wrapped in its original birthday paper for 100 years.
The gift is six certificates conceived in the art project ‘Framtidsbiblioteket’ (Future Library), which extends over the next century.
Every year, one author will be asked to contribute a text, which will be printed in 2114. The paper must come from 1,000 trees that will be planted at Vettakollen in Oslo.
‘Through the art project, Framtidsbiblioteket, Oslo’s citizens give the royal couple a part of the city of Oslo, and a part of the future. This is not just a gift to the King and Queen, but also to their great-grandchildren’s grandchildren, and their descendants. The gift lifts the past and present, and sends them into the future’, said the Mayor of Oslo, Marianne Borgen, who will present the gift at the royal palace on Tuesday.
The texts will be stored in the new Deichmanske library in Bjørvika.
The Scottish artist, Katie Paterson, is behind the project. Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, and British author, David Mitchell, have already contributed texts.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
