Culture Night 2025

The National Gallery by the pond
Open 10am — 10pm

12:00
Pop-up Outlet of the Museum Shop in the Workshop

We're clearing out the National Gallery of Iceland museum shop's stock:
Clearance sale while supplies last. Everything 50–80% off.

17:00
Curator led tour of the exhibition The Mystery of the Lumpfish and Other Stories of Fakes and Forgeries

Curator Dagný Heiðdal and conservator Ólafur Ingi Jónsson welcome guests to the exhibition The Mystery of the Lumpfish and Other Stories of Fakes and Forgeries. The exhibition examines fakes and forgeries that have come to light based on recent research. It traces how experts in the museum field authenticate objects in the collections that are under their care – a process that requires expertise in conservation science, art history, and connoisseurship.

Atten. the tour will be held in Icelandic.

18:00
Curator-led tour of the exhibition The Green Land by Inuk Silis Høegh.

Pari Stave, head curator at the National Gallery of Iceland will give a tour of the exhibition The Green Land by Inuk Silis Høegh. The artwork from 2021 is a 34-minute film installation with sound by the Danish sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard. Born in Qaqortoq, southern Greenland, in 1972, Inuk Silis Høegh is a film director and conceptual artist whose work often blends both disciplines. Set in and around Nuuk and Mantisoq, The Green Land is a visual mediation on a landscape that is both pristine and in a state of flux due to human intervention and climate change. Shown in a continuous video loop, the work centres on four elements: fire, earth, water, and air – introduced into the landscape in temporary (and non-toxic) land art interventions that appear as green presences. These elements take on spiritual dimensions, in what the artist has described as “the green colour insinuating itself into the landscape like a green serpent.”

19:00
Curator-led tour of the exhibition That’s a Very Large Number (Commerzbau)

Curator led tour by Pari Stave about the exhibition That’s a Very Large Number (Commerzbau). The exhibition was commissioned for the Icelandic Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2024, but will now be at the National Gallery of Iceland.

Hildigunnur is known for her nuanced artistic practice, which looks critically at the worldwide systems of production and distribution and the strange lives of the products they create. Her works draw attention to the small, disposable objects that are often the mass-produced accessories of material culture: packing materials, price tags, signage, and systems of display. She casts these objects in new roles, changing their value and meaning entirely as they are experienced outside of their original function.

20:00
Expert-led tour of the exhibition Revisited with Einar Falur Ingólfsson

Kristján Helgi Magnússon’s paintings made a great impression when he made his entrance onto the art scene nearly 100 years ago. His reputation was not confined to Iceland, as he also held exhbitions of his art in cities on both sides of the Atlantic, where critics praised his landscapes, portraits and still lifes. In Iceland, on the other hand, the response to his art was mixed, and today few people are familiar with his work; his name is rarely mentioned in discourse on Icelandic art. Nonetheless his contribution to art is extensive, and interesting in many ways. In a forthcoming retrospective, the National Gallery of Iceland will showcase the works of this short-lived artist, who died in 1938 aged only 34, after a brief but interesting career.

Atten. the tour will be held in Icelandic.

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The House of Collections:
Open 10am — 10pm

16:00
Fjárlögin/ Staðfest

This time, Gadus Morhua Ensemble sets its sights on Fjárlögin - the beloved songbook arranged by Sigfús Einarsson and Halldór Jónasson published in 1915–1916. Once a staple in Icelandic households, these songs were sung across the country for decades. Though their popularity may have faded with the decline of domestic singing traditions, Gadus Morhua Ensemble now reclaims them in their own distinctive style.

At the core of the ensemble’s repertoire are Icelandic and international folk songs, classical art songs and compositions my its members. These elements are intricately woven together in a compelling fusion of baroque elegance and the intimate atmosphere of the traditional Icelandic baðstofa, the communal living space in the Icelandic turf house. Fjárlögin are given the same thoughtful and imaginative treatment.

With a unique instrumentation—langspil (the traditional Icelandic drone zither) baroque cello, flute, percussion and vocals—the ensemble explores a rich spectrum of textures. Yet, their sound remains clean, understated, and stylistically coherent.

Gadus Morhua are:
Björk Níelsdóttir – vocals, langspil, and percussion
Eyjólfur Eyjólfsson – vocals, baroque flute, and langspil
Sigurður Halldórsson – vocals, langspil, and baroque cello

16:00-19:00
Run – Recover – Refresh
A Wellness Pop-up

On Reykjavík’s biggest cultural celebration day, the Run, Recover, Refresh pop-up will transform the Café Space inside the House of Collections into a welcoming wellness hub for marathon runners, Culture Night visitors, and the wider community.

The event brings together a runner recovery station, the launch of a new running club, kombucha tasting, a healthy food corner, and opportunities to connect — all in celebration of movement, wellbeing, and Icelandic community spirit.