New in Town

Góði hirðirinn

Köllunarklettsvegur 1

Beloved thrift store Góði hirðirinn opened a new mega store in Köllunarklettsvegur. You can find anything there, from furniture to books to house supplies and antiques, you name it. Located slightly out of downtown, you can easily take bus 12 or 14 from Hlemmur square.

Anna Jóna Kaffihús

Tryggvagata 11

The long-awaited coffee house is also a restaurant and venue in downtown Reykjavík. It’s modern and elegant, and it even has a small theatre equipped with 40 seats. The owner is Haraldur Þorleifsson, awarded Man of the year in Iceland, founder of Ueno and the creator of Ramp Up. Anna Jónna kaffihús is a homage to his mother, Anna Jóna, that inspired his love for stage arts.

Fish & Chips

Bankstræti 14

There’s a new Fish & Chips in town! Brought by the same company that recently opened Fish & Chips in Lækjargata. Maybe it’s time to ask ourselves, can we get enough fish and chips? Apparently not. It’s affordable and casual, perfect after a long day of sightseeing. They also offer some meaty options. Open every day.

Just Wingin’ It

Snorrabraut 56

Just Wingin’ It is a fast-food restaurant that specialises in fried chicken and hot wings. After their success with their restaurant in Garðabær, owner and retired basketball player Justin Shouse brought his talents to Reykjavík to please all chicken lovers. Just Wingin’ It is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 11h - 21h.

Reykjav K Blues Festival

APRIL 5-6

Ölver - Glæsibær

When people think of Icelandic blues, they typically envision the deep blue of the ocean or else the crystal blues of glacier. But this April, the blues born out of American South comes to to Iceland for the Reykjavík Blues Festival. Believe it or not, there are plenty of talented Icelandic musicians participating! Tickets are only 4.990 for the two-day festival that will surely soothe the soul. For more information, visit www.blues.is

ANNA, SIBELIUS AND TCHAIKOVSKY

APRIL 14

For the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra’s final concert in Eldborg Hall before going on tour in Great Britain, they are pulling out all the stops and bringing some truly talented performers under one roof. On April 14 at Harpa Concert Hall, you can see Anna Þorvaldsdóttir’s highly successful Metacosmos, which has been performed by many of the world’s leading orchestras, followed by Jean Sibelius’ unusual masterpiece Luonnotar, written to the text of the Finnish epic poem, Kalevala. Next is Jukka Tiensuu’s Voice verser featuring Finnish soprano Anu Komsi. The programme concludes with Tchaikovsky’s iconic Symphony no. 5.

REYKJAVÍK INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL - RILF

APRIL 19 - APRIL 23

Dozens of international and Icelandic authors are convening in Reykjavík for the annual literary festival. Since its inception in 1985, RILF has attracted some of the biggest names in literature, including Margaret Atwood, Herta Müller, Haruki Murakami, Günter Grass, and Kurt Vonnegut. It also highlights some of the most exciting Icelandic authors on an international stage. From readings to workshops to Q & A sessions, the festival provides every book lover an opportunity to get up close and personal with storytelling and the world of publishing. Even better, the event is free! www.bokmenntahatid.is/en/

BACKSTREET BOYS - DNA WORLD TOUR

APRIL 28

Backstreet’s back, alright! The beloved 90’s boy band will be gracing Iceland with their choreographed dances and pop hits at the end of April. The tour is in support of the group’s 2019 release, DNA. However, fans and non-fans alike can expect to hear the now 25-year-old hits from their first couple of records that skyrocketed The Backstreet Boys into stardom. It’s going to be guaranteed trip down memory lane, and we want it that way. The concert is April 28 at Laugardalshöllin.

CHILDREN’S CULTURE FESTIVAL

APRIL 18 - APRIL 23

The Children’s Culture Festival was launched in 2010 and is dedicated to children and young people in Reykjavik up to the age of sixteen. It strives to introduce youth to a wide range of arts disciplines through the medium of workshops and performances, and it places emphasis on participation, focusing particularly on the child as an artist. During the festival there will be a variety of activities for children, including theatre workshops, circus, visual arts, storytelling, music, film, puppetry and dance activities, with many nursery schools, primary schools, music and art schools, libraries, museums, theatres, and other cultural institutions taking part. For more information and a programme schedule, visit www.childrensculturefestival.is

FUCKING GENIUS/ DJÖFULSINS SNILLINGUR

TJARNARBÍO - APRIL 13, APRIL 23

“Fucking Genius” is a black comedy portraying the clash between an artist’s identity and an immigrant’s reality. Uriela, a newcomer in Iceland, aspires to audition at the National Circus. Instead of finding her place within the cultural elite, she falls into a circle of tricky application and authentication processes, evaluated by the self-checkout robotic system of Kronan.

The play is a multilingual fusion of textual, physical, visual, and musical arts, inspired by Dante’s “Inferno” and “Babette’s Feast” by Karen Blixen.

Sigurj N Lafsson Museum

The Gift of Children

Sigurjón Ólafsson’s reliefs and portraits of the family members of Einar Sigurðs son fisher ies magnate in Vestman Islands. In a booklet that accompanies the ex hibition, art histor ian Aðal steinn Ingólfs son discus ses these family por traits in the con text of other works by the artist em pha siz ing the re sponsibility that Einar Sigurðs son, as a pros perous business man, felt towards struggl ing artists.

Reykjavik Art Museum Smundarsafn

Ásmundur Sveinsson and Sigga Björg: Ghost at the Window

The world of trolls, elves, ghosts and other creatures opens up in the exhibition Ghost at the window. Reykjavík Art Museum continues to present new works by contemporary artist in Ásmundarsafn, where they meet in dialogue with Ásmund Sveinsson’s visual world and his unique house in Laugardalur. Now the focus is on legends, fairy tales and imagination.

Sigga Björg is known for her imaginative drawings, installations, videos and books. She has created a unique visual world where fantasy, humor and horror go hand in hand. In her works, she threads the emotional life in all its chaos and creates moods that are almost impossible to put into words, but with her characteristic style she manages to express the most incredible nuances. At this exhibition, she works, among other things, on a new series based on Icelandic folk tales. In Sigga Björg´s drawings she mixes splashes and randomness with fine precision and patterns. Her works are created equally on the walls of showrooms and on paper.

Aurora Reykjav K

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 Centre, where the northern lights are always on display.

Aurora Reykjavík’s pull and ace up its sleeve is its fantastic 4k timelapse film of the Aurora Borealis. Aurora Reykjavík’s latest additions 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 receive instruction 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.