For a city the size of Reykjavík, there’s definitely a lot going on (per capita, of course), and luckily for you, you’re holding (or scrolling through) an exhaustive list of hotspots worth your attention. Our cultural experts keep tabs on the town’s happenings, but not in a pretentious, professional way — they live here, so they are nothing but upfront about what’s a hit or a miss. 2025 was a great year for culture, with multiple new galleries popping up in Reykjavík, museums seriously levelling up, and some institutions going into hibernation. If you’re going to do anything cultural in Reykjavík, start with some of these.
Best Gallery
Þula
Multiple locations
Þula has spent the past few years building a reputation in Reykjavík’s commercial gallery scene under the leadership of Ásdís Þula Þorláksdóttir, and now, having cemented it, the gallery isn’t slowing down; on the contrary, it’s already expanding its reach abroad. 2025 was a productive year of showcasing art by established and emerging Icelandic artists, experimenting with media from Helga Páley Friðþjófsdóttir’s drawings to Steinunn Þórarinsdóttir’s sculptures, and even opening a new location in Hafnartorg downtown.
Runner Up:
i8
Multiple locations
i8 continues to be one of the leading galleries in Iceland, representing local superstars like Ólafur Elíasson and Ragnar Kjartansson. In 2025, the latter had a year-long exhibition at i8’s Marshall House location, consisting of seven iterations, mixing new and existing work, each of which received high praise. On Tryggvagata, i8 delivered strong exhibitions, rotating local artists and international trailblazers. Standouts included Roni Horn’s photographs and Alicja Kwade’s large-scale sculptures.
Runner Up:
BERG Contemporary
Klapparstígur 16
“For me, an important thing about a gallery is that it has a low threshold — you don’t feel like you have to buy stuff,” one panellist says. At BERG Contemporary, you can pop in quickly or even peer through the big windows to see what’s on. The gallery strikes a good middle ground of what artists it puts on, alternating between artists that aren’t too big yet, while also giving space to legends like Woody Vasulka.
Previous Winners:
2025: Þula
2024: Kling & Bang
2023: Gallery Port
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