On 11 January at 12:43 p. m., the annual First Dawn festival was held in Murmansk, the largest city in the Arctic Circle, on the Solnechnaya Sopka. It's a big holiday for the city's residents as the sun rises over the horizon for the first time after 41 days of polar night. For those living in the south, such festivities are a novelty, because only after experiencing weeks of total darkness is it possible to rejoice in the first rays of sunshine. But these days are yet to come — so how do the northerners cope with a polar night?

Special urban environment beyond the Arctic Circle

The polar night is one of the most severe climatic factors in the Far North. According to scientists, light starvation leads to a decrease in the synthesis of serotonin, the joy hormone. Margarita Petukhova, head of the Centre for Public Health and Medical Prevention, talked to FederalPress. 

'People tend to become irritable, to confuse the time of day, to lose track of their routines, and to sleep poorly. It is no coincidence that those who have to live in polar night conditions often suffer from depression,' said the scientist.

Depressed psyche is followed by poor vitamin absorption and reduced immunity. This is why people living in the Far North have extra allowances and retire earlier. However, specialists and experts on the urban environment know a number of secrets that can reduce the stress of living in total darkness.

For example, NGO Information and Analytical Centre of State Commission for Arctic Development under the guidance of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic and the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of Russia has developed a unified design code for the urban environment of Arctic settlements. It is a compilation of standards and regulations that govern the improvement and appearance of the urban environment beyond the Arctic Circle. One of the aims of its development is to create a comfortable environment that should help Arctic residents to cope with the specific challenges of life in the Arctic.

The design code shapes the urban environment with many factors in mind, including the polar night. The main principles of city and settlement decoration are the bright colours used in facade design, the mounting of light installations, and the illumination of building facades. In Murmansk, for example, light installations are being mounted and houses continue to be fitted with lighting. In total, dozens of houses in Murmansk are illuminated, with more being added every year. Thus, in 2022, the city administration has illuminated 45 more houses. What in other regions is called 'light pollution,' in the Arctic is a necessity for well-being.

The Norilsk administration plans to allocate RUB 132 mn in 2023 to install LED steles, light installations, building lighting and the festive lights. In Naryan-Mar, LED strips were installed at public transport stops before the New Year. Lighting technologies enhance visibility in polar night conditions, brighten up the monotony of the winter environment and create a cosy atmosphere.

As part of the Arctic Settlement Design Code project, which is uniform for all territories in the Arctic, colour is introduced in addition to light, which should dilute the almost monochrome landscape. The empty sides of buildings and technical structures in the Arctic circle cities are decorated with murals: new images regularly appear on the walls. A mural is a type of monumental painting on the walls of architectural structures that covers the entire wall space with its size. Murmansk, Salekhard, Yakutsk and other locations in the polar region use murals as a design solution.

Residential buildings are being renovated, restored and painted in bright colours as part of the visual enhancement. For example, Tiksi became the first pilot settlement to implement the Arctic Settlement Design Code. The colour scheme of the buildings will help to compensate for the lack of sunlight and the ascetic nature of the landscape.

Night as a canvas for an artist

The polar night has more than just a negative effect—for artists and performers, it has become the canvas on which artworks are born. On 16 February 2023, the art residency titled 'Nikel. The Polar Night' will take place in the Nikel urban settlement, Murmansk Region. 'Art in the Prism of the Polar Night' is the concept for this year's winter art residency. Here you will find projects devoted to the perception of the city in the absence of natural light, research into the properties of light in the darkness of the polar night, creating objects based on light refraction, rethinking and transforming the city using light solutions, VR and AR technologies.

Among the events that have already taken place is the Prostor art residency, which was organised in Murmansk last December. Its aim was to support artists involved in media art, music and design. According to participants, Murmansk during the polar night was an almost perfect canvas on which they created their works of art. 'Everything looks better on a black background. And, of course, the northern lights! We saw it. And it made a huge impression. Many artists have taken it into their work as an idea. I think the northern lights are a kind of magnificent natural multimedia performance,' said Anna Smirnova, Creative Producer of the Generative Gallery.