Events

ICECON

NOVEMBER 5-7

IceCon is a science fiction, horror, fantasy, and comic fan convention taking place in the heart of Reykjavík. Guests of honour this year are American author and puppeteer Mary Robinette Kowal, Icelandic author Hildur Knútsdóttir, and American science fiction author Ted Chiang (online). The programme is in English and mostly focused on literature. During the weekend of November 5-7, you can join many interesting panels about subjects ranging from fandom to Icelandic folklore, and from myth forming to gender roles. IceCon takes place at Veröld – House of Vigdís, a recent addition to the University of Iceland facilities.

CRAFTS AND DESIGN FAIR

NOVEMBER 18-21

ICELANDIC LANGUAGE DAY

NOVEMBER 16

The Craft and Design Fair is an annual event organised since 2006. During the fair, many of Iceland’s craft and design studios get the opportunity to showcase and sell their work. During this edition, individuals working in textile, ceramics, jewellery, wood, and leather are participating. It’s a great opportunity to see new Icelandic design from local artists and craftsmen and add selected products to your collection. It takes place in Reykjavík City Hall. In the autumn of 1995, the Icelandic Minister of Education, Science and Culture, Björn Bjarnason, suggested that one day a year should be dedicated to celebrating the Icelandic language. Ever since, Icelandic Language Day is celebrated annually on November 16. November 16 is also the birthdate of Icelandic poet Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807-1845) and on this day, the Jónas Hallgrímsson Award is awarded to an individual for their outstanding and unique contribution to the Icelandic language.

A Story Unfolds A variety of sculptures by Sigurjón Ólafsson, from his student years at the Royal Academy of the Arts in Copenhagen, till the year he died, 1982. Also to be seen are the sketches for some of his key works that have been enlarged and installed in public areas, e.g. Footballers (LSÓ 247) erected in Akranes, Mask (LSÓ 011) at the Reykjavík City Theater and the Viking (LSÓ 162) which Sigurjón also carved in dolerite and stands in the front of the National Gallery of Iceland.

REYKJAVIK ART MUSEUM ÁSMUNDARSAFN

Carl Boutard and Ásmundur Sveinsson: Budding Earth

Until 30.01.22 In nature there are endless examples of remarkable design, where things take form through the interplay of rule, repetition and deviation. Artist Carl Boutard focuses on these elements in his and Ásmundur Sveinsson‘s exhibition. Carl’s sculptural practice has been shaped by his devotion to the environment, both natural and man-made. Often situated or created in public space, his work reflects on the relationship between human beings, nature and culture. Carl describes himself as a “traditional sculptor” referring to his emphasis on material and form, and the function of the works to change depending on the point of view from which they are viewed. The works may appear abstract, but are often drawn from natural forms that can be found in the tiny plant kingdom or in the vast universe. Much of Carl Boutard’s art practice has a counterpart in the lifework of Ásmundur Sveinsson. It is exciting to see the work of these sculptors from different times juxtaposed together. Visitors gain new perspective on the heritage of the well-known and cared for artist through a contemporary lens – within the beautiful environment of Ásmundarsafn and the surrounding garden. Carl presents new sculptures together with selected works by Ásmundur from his extensive career. He brings forward works by Ásmundur that reflect his interest in man’s relationship with nature. Ásmundur often personified nature in human form or semi-abstract figures and he also brought different natural phenomena into abstract form. The exhibition draws its title from a wooden sculpture, Budding Earth from 1945, showing a mother nurturing a child, but the forms also reflect trees or vegetation reaching form the ground to the sky.

A Story Unfolds

Budding Earth

AURORA REYKJAVÍK

Catch the Aurora Borealis All Year Round There is perhaps nothing more magical than witnessing the beauty of a Northern Lights display. However, those unpredictable, ever dancing lights don’t always show up on cue – and fade away during the summer months. So, it is with great joy that we welcome Aurora Reykjavík – The Northern Lights Center, where the Northern Lights are always on display.

Aurora Reykjavík’s latest addition are virtual reality goggles featuring the world’s first 360°movie of aurora displays entirely shot in Iceland. If you can’t catch the Northern Lights yourself, this utterly realistic experience is definitely the next best option to witness the beauty of this truly amazing phenomenon.

Capturing the Northern Lights with your own camera can be challenging, but, at Aurora Reykjavík, you get taught by the experts: bring your camera and try the right settings at the Northern Lights Photo Simulator.

In the exhibition you will find an entertaining selfie booth – have fun looking all fabulous under the Northern Lights!

For more information, see www.aurorareykjavik.is.

ÁSGRÍMUR JÓNSSON COLLECTION

KORRIRÓ OG DILLIDÓ - PICTURES OF FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALES BY ÁSGRÍMUR JÓNSSON Step into magic! The visual world of Icelandic folklore and fairy tales created by Ásgrímur Jónsson in his art is a truly enchanted realm. Elves, trolls and ghosts were given a clear form in Ásgrímur’s art. He first exhibited such pieces in Iceland in 1905. Ásgrímur’s works on folklore themes were well received; in the press, reviewers expressed delight that the folktale heritage was being addressed, for the first time, by an Icelandic artist.

The exhibition Korriró og Dillidó offers an ideal opportunity for the entire family to experience the unique supernatural world of elves in their finery, and terrifying trolls, as depicted with passionate sincerity by Ásgrímur Jónsson. The emphasis is on the visitor’s own imagination – offering the opportunity to enjoy this aspect of the cultural heritage, which can throw light upon the fears, dreams and desires of former generations – and their relationship with awe-inspiring Icelandic nature.

Aurora Reykjavík

Ásgrímur Jónsson

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND

Muggur - Gumundur Thorsteinsson

Until 13.02.22 The exhibition seeks to explore every aspect of Muggur’s artistic creation, which spans many fields: landscape; bucolic and genre themes from Iceland; memories of his travels to faraway places,

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INGÓLFSSTRÆTI 1A 101 REYKJAVÍK

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such as rural Norway and the New York City social scene; fantasy worlds where graceful princes and princesses live in beautiful palaces; the dark and terrifying world of trolls; and the merciful world of faith where Christ cures the sick. Muggur’s illustrations of folktales often underline their comical elements – and he is regarded as the first humourist in Icelandic art. He expressed his ideas in diverse media and methods: he drew in pencil, pastel and pen, painted watercolours and oils, made collages with paper, embroidered, sewed, and carved in wood.

Hello Universe

Until 09.01.22 The far-distant spaces of the boundless universe have had a hold on the human mind from primeval times, and over the centuries artists have grappled with notions about space, and expressed and mediated them in diverse ways. The exhibition Hello Universe explores the fantastical

world of outer space through the lens of works of art in the collection of the National Gallery of Iceland.

The exhibition includes many pieces from the 1960s and 70s, when rapid advances in space technology took humans beyond the bounds of the Earth’s atmosphere for the first time. and mutable: they are in constant motion, and new discoveries are always being made when one looks at art. Tumi, the protagonist of artist Ásgerður Búadóttir’s book The Red Hat and the Raven, will

guide the youngest visitors around the exhibition in an accessible way, to explore the scientific perspective and learn something new!

Muggur Hello Universe

Of the North

Until 09.01.22 Steina’s gigantic video installation Of the North (2001) is an arresting and captivating work that touches all who see it. It is created from Steina’s archive of video recordings, mostly of Icelandic nature – either the surface of the earth, or microscopic views: microbes, as well as crashing waves and melting ice, landslips and an array of natural phenomena relating to geological formation and destruction of our planet. The work also reaches out into space, with spherical objects rotating around an imaginary axis in a hypnotic rhythm, with all the concomitant sounds. The beat and energy evoke imagery that may lead the observer’s thoughts in many directions – whether to magnificent beauty, or more down-to-earth musing on the vulnerability of nature and the impermanence of the earth. Opus-oups Guðný Rósa Ingimarsdóttir

Until 16.01.22 A retrospective of the works of artist Guðný Rósa Ingimarsdóttir. The works on display cover Ingimarsdóttir’s career of more than two decades and the exhibition is a part of Reykjavík Art Museum’s exhibition series with an aim to examine and present the career of important working artists.

This exhibition is the fourth in a series of exhibitions at Kjarvalsstaðir which presents the career of a working artist who has already, through fully formed author characteristics, made their mark on the history of Icelandic art.

In connection with the exhibition, Reykjavík Art Museum publishes a grand catalogue with photos from the exhibition as well as photos of Ingimarsdóttir’s works and texts about the artist and her subjects.

Kjarval and the Contemporary

Until 16.01.22 The exhibition contains selected works by painter Jóhannes S. Kjarval (1885-1972), a pioneer of Icelandic art. Kjarval opened people’s eyes to their environment in such a dramatic way that he is considered one of the most beloved artists of art history in Iceland. In this exhibition works by Kjarval are paired with those by contemporary artists, and in doing so, merge ideas from different times.

The Making of a Nation Heritage and History in Iceland The National Museum of Iceland’s permanent exhibition, Making of a Nation – Heritage and History in Iceland, is intended to provide insight into the history of the Icelandic nation from the settlement to the present day. The aim is to cast light on the Icelanders’ past by placing the cultural heritage preserved by the National Museum in a historical context, guided by the question: what makes a nation? The exhibition includes about 2,000 objects, dating from the Settlement Age to the present, as well as about 1,000 photographs from the 20th century. The exhibition is conceived as a journey through time: it begins with the ship in which medieval settlers crossed the ocean to their new home, it ends in a modern airport, the Icelanders’ gateway to the world..

Saga of Hofstaðir, Unearthing the Past in North Iceland

UNTIL 31.12.22 At Hofstaðir in the district of Lake Mývatn, north Iceland, extensive archaeological excavations have been carried out over the past three decades. The site includes remains from the Viking Age to the 20th century. A huge Viking-Age structure was excavated: a hall or longhouse where people gathered on social occasions, with other smaller buildings around it. The hall is one of the largest structures ever excavated in Iceland. In addition, a churchyard was excavated at Hofstaðir, which is one of the oldest churchyards unearthed in Iceland. Whole families were laid to rest in the cemetery, and their bones yield evidence about their lives. The face of one of the women buried at Hofstaðir has been reconstructed using DNA The Portrait Collection The Portrait Collection is a part of the Photographic Collection of the National Museum. It contains different types of portraits, including paintings, photographs, needlework, and sculptures. The Portrait collection has a large and diverse range, from snapshots to invaluable pieces of art. The one common denominator is that they all depict people. In the exhibition, the portraits have been categorised into 34 themes. For instance, you can view the oldest known portrait in Iceland, photographs of the contestants of the first Icelandic beauty pageant and pictures of various groups, both old and new. The Portrait Collection was established in 1908 with the main objective of collecting images of all Icelanders. It holds 60.000 works spanning 400 years. The collection, which is still active and continuing to grow, primarily consists of donations from individuals

ÁRBÆR OPEN AIR MUSEUM

Árbær was an established farm well into the 20th century, and the museum opened there in 1957. Árbær is now an open air museum with more than 20 buildings which form a town square, a village and a farm. Most of the buildings have been relocated from central Reykjavik. Árbær Open Air Museum tries to give a sense of the architecture and way of life and lifestyles of the past in Reykjavík and during summer visitors can see domestic animals. There are many exhibitions and events held at the Museum which highlight specific periods in Reykjavik’s history. These include craft days, vintage car displays, Christmas exhibitions and much more. There is something for everyone at Árbær Open Air Museum.

Making of a Nation

EINAR JÓNSSON MUSEUM

This is a museum in the heart of Reykjavík that houses the work of Iceland’s first sculptor Einar Jónsson. The museum contains close to 300 artworks spanning a 60-year career: carvings from the artist’s youth, sculpture, paintings and drawings. A beautiful tree-clad garden adorned with 26 bronze casts of the artist’s works is located behind the museum. The task of the museum is to collect, preserve and display the work of Einar as well as to conduct research on his life and art.

Kristín Þorkelsdóttir

UNTIL 30.12.21 Few designers in Iceland have created as many works that are present in Icelanders’ daily life as Kristín Þorkelsdóttir. They can be seen in the most mundane of places—in refrigerators, inside bags or at the dinner table—or in locations as inaccessible as the Central Bank’s vaults. Kristín is the designer behind the packaging of many popular foods, as well as the series of banknotes currently in use in Iceland, which she created together with the designer Stephen Fairbairn. Kristín has also designed countless advertisements, books, and nationally known logos, many of which have been in use for over five decades.

Behind each of Kristín’s nationally known works are a myriad of sketches, experiments and reflections, which have not been shown publicly until now. This exhibition therefore presents both familiar and previously unseen works, which together gradually turned a young artist into one of the pioneers of Icelandic graphic design.

Sunna Örlygsdóttir

UNTIL 30.12.21 Sunna has a long-standing fascination for garments and their making and a penchant for (but not limited to) the following: all things odd and off-kilter, luxury and the richest of materials, time-consuming techniques, unconventional and resourcefully self-made fashions and objects.

THE SETTLEMENT EXHIBITION

The Settlement Exhibition An open excavation where Viking ruins meet multimedia

Einar Jónsson Museum

Kristín Þorkelsdóttir

technology. Just below ground in downtown Reykjavík, this open excavation uncovers the city’s Viking Age history. Discovered during building work in 2001, these archaeological remains turned out to be the earliest evidence of human settlement in the city, with some dating to before AD 872. Careful excavation revealed a 10thcentury hall or longhouse, which is now preserved in its original location as the focal point of the exhibition. Interactive technology immerses you in the world of the Reykjavík farm at the time of the first settlers, including information on how

BEST STEAKS IN REYKJAVÍK... ...WE AGREE

Viking Age buildings were constructed and what life was like in the hall. The Settlement Exhibition is part of Reykjavík City Museum.

REYKJAVIK MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY

The Return of the King

UNTIL 12.12.21 The exhibition The Return of the King by photographer/ artist Sigurður Unnar Birgisson comprises enlargements of passport-sized photographs of men aged about seventy, alongside photographs of flowers of Icelandic nature by renowned Icelandic photographer

Hjálmar R. Bárðarson (19182009). The juxtaposition of these two subjects may seem unusual. What could elderly men have in common with flowers? At first glance, all they seem to share is the use of a conventional, realistic approach in both cases – and also a harmony of form between them. But the exhibition poses deeper questions, delving beneath the surface to view the broader context. The photos of the men were all taken at the Passamyndir photographic studio, when they had to renew their driving licences at age 70. Hence Sigurður Unnar has taken a huge number of such photos in his work, and this has given him the opportunity to see and define them as a specific subject, which he has chosen to approach as an art form. The men are all at a turning point: they are at the end of their working life, becoming pensioners. In order to attain a deeper insight into their lives and what they did with their time, Sigurður Unnar also met with them outside the studio. The outcome of that work is a text-work and short film which provide a more profound insight into a whole career.

Settlemen Exhibition

The Return of the King - Sigurður Unnar Birgisson

REYKJAVIK ART MUSEUM HAFNARHÚS

Erró the Traveller

UNTIL 27.03.22 The journey characterizes both Erró’s life and career. He studied art in Reykjavik, Oslo, Ravenna, Florence, and eventually settled in Paris in 1958, after spending several months in Israel. Many successive journeys followed, including some remarkable trips to New York, Moscow and Havana. A world tour, 1971-1972, led him to cross Asia. From the 1970s, he has lived and worked between Paris, Bangkok and Formentera in Spain.

Erró’s travels play an important role in the creation of his works. Wherever he goes, he collects hundreds of images. He brings them together in collages which, enlarged, lead to paintings. The idea of travel, of displacement, appears in many works

through the use of motifs such as planes, rockets, trains, birds, horses, or even superheroes. It manifests itself in a specific way in the series about “Mao’s world tour”, “space travels” and “North African women”.

Abracadabra

UNTIL 20.03.22 In this diverse exhibition, new works by contemporary artists are presented especially with children and young people in mind. The works are all in the collection of the Reykjavík Art Museum. Presentation, mediation and education aims to open up the world of art as it appears today for younger audiences. Along with the exhibition, there is a rich program as well as digital dissemination. “Abracadabra” is a word deriving from ancient languages that means: What I say becomes a reality. This is a magic word that describes how artists’ ideas become works of art.”

Erró

The Icelandic Punk Museum is located at Bankastræti 0, an underground location that served as public toilets from 1930 to 2006. The museum honours the music and the spirit that has shaped musicians and bands to this day; people who dared to be different. Objects, photographs, videos, posters, etc. from roughly 1978 to 1992 are on display with texts in Icelandic and English, and the main music from the period is available to guests.

CULTURE HOUSE

National Treasures The National Gallery of Iceland’s collection contains over eleven thousand works. In the exhibition Treasures of a Nation, a selection of works from the collection displays the evolution of art in Iceland from the early nineteenth century to our times.

Punk Museum

Culture House

Welcome to Jómfrúin, the home of Danish smørrebrød in Reykjavik. It all began in 1888 with Oscars Davidsen’s highly praised smørrebrød restaurant in Copenhagen. An unbroken tradition of quality and Danish culinary culture for the past 100 years. Enjoy!