From Iceland — Ongoing Now: Winter Lights Festival

Ongoing Now: Winter Lights Festival

Published February 5, 2016

Ongoing Now: Winter Lights Festival
Hrefna Björg Gylfadóttir
Photo by
Ragnar Th. Sigurðsson

Iceland may still be frozen, but the days are getting longer, and the time of the annual celebration of the rising sun is upon us. The Winter Light Festival programme aims to reflect the intersection of Reykjavík’s art, history and culture accordingly, with something on offer for everyone.

On Friday is Museum Night, where local venues put on a wide range of events and artist talks, including many new exhibition openings, a Star Wars showcase, and a treasure hunt. Museums remain open for free until midnight, and special buses ferry people between locations (also for free).

Some of the participating museums include:

  • ASÍ Art Gallery
  • Árbær open air museum
  • The Einar Jonsson Museum
  • Gallery Tukt
  • Gerðarsafn
  • Museum of Design and Applied art
  • National Museum of Iceland
  • National Archives of Iceland
  • National Gallery of Iceland
  • Reykjavík City museum
  • Reykjavík Maritime Museum
  • The Reykjavík Museum of Photography

Saturday night is Pool Night, which sees pools remain open until midnight, again with free admission. There are all sorts of spectacular events taking place at the pools, including live concerts, poetry readings, and installations.

On Sunday there is a Snow Celebration out in Bláfjöll from 12:00-17:00.

A bus schedule and detailed festival programme can be found here.

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