Children’s Culture Festival at the National Gallery of Iceland

Reading room, 2nd floor

The exhibition is the result of a collaborative project between the National Gallery of Iceland and four preschools based in Reykjavík, all of which have used the museum as a learning platform and visited the museum regularly over the past years. The project was carried out in the spring of 2026, with each preschool visiting the House of Collections three times and working based on the exhibition Stay and Turn to Stone! Folklore in Icelandic Art. During each visit, two artworks were examined using the methods of Sjónarafl – learning through visual literacy with an emphasis on active expression and listening. The children also worked on creative projects in art workshops based on three themes of the exhibition: ghosts, elves and hidden people, and trolls. Following the museum visits, the children created artworks in their preschools, which are also on display.

Participating preschools: Furuskógur, Grænaborg, Laufásborg, and Miðborg. The exhibition is supported by the Children's Culture Festival in Reykjavík.

Stairs in the stairwell

Explore the dreams of SPIN students about how we can shape the world together. Using recycled shoes, creative expression, and digital works, the children show the steps they want to take — both for themselves and for society. How they want to be in the world, and how they want the world to be. In the SPIN project, the languages, stories, and communities of children connect across the Nordic countries. Language Friends in the Nordics – the Art of Understanding Each Other seeks to cultivate a deep appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity among children in the Nordic region. By integrating educational practices with cultural insights, our initiative aims to foster an inclusive environment where multilingualism is viewed as a valuable resource

The artwork Footprints in the North – Children Mark the Steps is a continuation of an exhibition where creative works by 250 Nordic students were displayed at Dokk1 in Aarhus in the autumn of 2025.

Alongside the exhibition, there will be an art workshop at the City Library in Grófin on April 20, from 4:30–6:00 PM.

Creative Shoemaking Workshop: Barnamenningarhátíð - Dagskrá | Reykjavik

The old café, 1st floor
First day of summer, April 23rd at 1pm – 4pm

Students in Landakotsskóli, in collaboration with Young Environmentalists, offer an open redesign workshop in the old café of the House of Collections in connection with projects they have worked on at school, related to the Children's Culture Festival 2026

The purpose of this project is to encourage students to think about the endless waste in the textile industry and how to combat it as individuals. Individuals intent on sustainability and creativity in the way they rethink the easy availability of cheap clothes. We want to instill the importance of less clothes being made and thrown away and thus reduce their environmental impact.

By not buying the latest mass produced fashion but by creating their own with charity shop finds students reimagined their purpose and design and drew on their personal interests and stories in doing so.

Each student was tasked with taking a charity shop hoodie and reimagining and upcycling it according to their own interests or concepts. The hoodies were cut, sewn, embroidered, patched and embellished. Those who had time could also take charity shop t-shirts and redesign those.

The object in short, was to heal the planet, have fun and discover the magic of designing and remaking your own clothes

All welcome!

The project is supported by the Children's Culture Festival in Reykjavík.