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The Harald Award 2025

"Harald of the year" is Copenhagen University's Teacher of the Year prize and is awarded every year in November. The 27 cm high sculpture was first modelled in 1912 by the sculptor Peter Herold for Royal Copenhagen and symbolizes the bird of wisdom: the horned owl. This year, the choice fell on the Danish artist Mie Mørkeberg to decorate the Harald Award.

This Year’s Decoration

As tradition dictates, Mie Mørkeberg has decorated three owls: one for the award recipient, one for herself, and one for Royal Copenhagen’s historical archive. All three owls feature the motif of a woman in deep contemplation — a thinking figure that marks the 150th anniversary of women’s admission to university. Each woman is depicted with braids symbolizing intertwined thoughts, while variations in colours and flowers — clovers, dandelions, and poppies — give each owl its own unique symbolism.

The artist

Mie Mørkeberg (b. 1980) is a Danish visual artist educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. She creates dreamlike, colour-saturated universes where humans and animals merge through symbols and recurring motifs. She has exhibited at institutions such as Trapholt and Kunstmuseum Brandts and has created several public artworks. Her works are represented in significant Danish collections, and in 2024 she created “Samtalen 1918–2024” for the Danish Parliament.

This Year’s Winner

The winner of the Harald Award 2025 is Elisenda Feliu. Elisenda Feliu is a professor at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Copenhagen. The award is presented at a ceremony during the University of Copenhagen’s Annual Celebration, attended by representatives of the Royal Family, followed by a dinner and concluding event at the Royal Danish Theatre. The artist of the year and a representative from Royal Copenhagen are invited to attend.

“It has been a great pleasure to see Mie Mørkeberg bring this year’s Harald 2025 to life. The decoration is striking and carries strong symbolism, while beautifully honoring the 150th anniversary of women’s admission to the University of Copenhagen. Mie has translated her colourful and symbol-filled universe in a technically demanding and inspiring way. Her decision to unfold the motif across the entire owl creates a captivating journey, no matter from which angle the piece is experienced,” says Creative Director Jasper Toron Nielsen.