Nordiska Museet Brings Its Photography Collection to Life with Interactive Bluefin Square Displays and PIXILAB Blocks® Software
The Setting: Six Million Photographs and Countless Stories
Nordiska Museet in Stockholm is home to approximately six million photographs documenting life across the Nordic region from the mid-19th century to today. The collection captures work, housing, traditions, relationships and everyday moments, creating an extraordinary visual record of how people have lived and shaped their communities.
Until recently, only a small fraction of this extensive archive had been available for the public to see. Photos and negatives that once lay dormant in the archives were under imminent threat when a storage facility flooded and many of the museum's untouched negatives got wet.
"We had a historic rescue to do. So, we froze everything and then we had conservers come. It was a big operation." — Matti Shevchenko Sandin, museum designer.
Until then, they did not realize just how many images they had. This was an exciting discovery and raised the question: how should we show them?
Months later, the museum’s Nordic Moments exhibition was created to open more of the collection to visitors. Presented across seven rooms, the exhibition brings together changing themes, photographers, formats and eras to offer both personal and cultural perspectives on Nordic life.
The Challenge: Making a Vast Archive Feel Personal
Displaying a collection of this scale requires more than placing photographs on a wall. The museum needed a way for visitors to explore a greater number of images while preserving the thoughtful, intimate experience of looking through a traditional photo album.
"We thought to make a room with screens is not a new thing. But how can we make it more interesting?" — Sandin.
The technology had to make the archive more accessible without distracting from the photographs themselves. It also needed to complement the exhibition design and create an experience that felt natural within the museum environment.
A conventional widescreen display would have introduced the visual language of a television or computer monitor. For this application, the screen needed to feel like part of the exhibit—and part of the story.
The Solution: A Digital Album in a Familiar Form
In the exhibition’s second room, Photo Albums of Nordic Life, visitors encounter a collection of interactive digital albums. Each album presents a curated perspective from the museum’s photography collection, exploring subjects that range from changing seasons and daily routines to the memories that shape Nordic cultural history. Not to overlook a fan favorite: cats!
The Bluefin 22-inch square touchscreens, with Intel and Blocks software, were integrated into custom wooden book-style frames. Photo albums can feel outdated and desirable at the same time. This format created a familiar experience with modern functionality. Visitors can take a seat and browse the images with a simple tap, moving through time and photography at their own pace.
"Our audience ranges from 90 down. They come here for the experience of the Nordic life or, to have a nice day at the museum and how to make them interested is by technology." — Sandin.
Technology That Fits the Story
The square 1:1 display format was especially well suited to the experience. Rather than forcing photographs into a conventional 16:9 screen, it accommodates a variety of portrait, landscape and square images within a balanced digital canvas. The touchscreen interface makes exploration intuitive, while the wooden enclosure connects the technology to the tactile and familiar tradition of turning through an album. The screens were also selected for their durability. They have to be able to stand up to a parade of visitors using them and deliver the same experience each time.
"I recommend Bluefin screens all the time because of a few reasons. One of [the reasons] is that you have the built-in Intel, which is good for Blocks specifically. With Intel we get full performance with the screen and built-in player." — Fredrik Svahnberg, CEO at PIXILAB (Bluefin CMS Partner).
"Plus Bluefin offers all sizes from 10.1" to 86" and unique shapes and then indoor, outdoor, touch or non-touch."
Visitors can view thousands of photos if they like. Sandin and his team worked with PIXILAB to keep content consistent and simple to keep content consistent and simple. They are able to push out new albums regularly and schedule updates or changes via the CMS. The integration of the Intel operating system made it possible to enclose the screens completely in the frames and create the intuitive experience of flipping through a living album.
The result is an installation in which the hardware supports the exhibition concept without becoming its focus.
This is an important distinction for museums. When digital displays are integrated successfully, they do not feel like technology added to an exhibit. They become part of how the story is discovered.
The Experience: Inviting Visitors to Travel Through Time
Every digital album is carefully curated by the museum, with brief text providing context for the photographs. Visitors can pause over an image, move between stories and explore the collection according to their own interests.
The interactive albums help transform an enormous institutional archive into a more personal encounter. Sitting at a table and exploring photographs echoes an experience many visitors already understand: gathering around a family album and discovering the people, places and moments preserved inside it.
At the same time, the digital format gives Nordiska museet the flexibility to present more of its collection and refresh the experience as themes and exhibitions change.
Designed Around the Mission
Nordic Moments demonstrates how digital technology can expand access to a cultural collection while remaining sensitive to its subject matter and setting.
The Bluefin 22-inch square touchscreens with Intel were not selected simply to add interactivity. Their shape, scale and integration helped the museum translate the familiar photo album into a flexible digital experience—one that invites visitors to slow down, explore and connect with life across the Nordic region.
By fitting the display to the story, Nordiska museet created an experience that feels both contemporary and deeply familiar: a digital window into millions of moments that might otherwise remain unseen.
Project Highlights:
Client: Nordiska museet, Stockholm
Exhibition: Nordic Moments
Application: Interactive digital photo albums
Display: Bluefin 22-inch square touchscreens with Intel
Resolution: 1920 × 1920
CMS: PIXILAB Blocks® Software
Integrator: Visono
Integration: Custom wooden book-style frames
Purpose: Expand access to the museum’s historical photography collection through an intuitive, self-directed visitor experience
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