Best Of Reykjavík Activities 2024: Best Art Museum

You’ve had your five a day (veggies/beers/panic attacks), now you gotta stay active. Whether it’s to get a dose of culture, hopping on a day tour or splashing around in your municipal pool, you can’t go wrong with our picks for Best Activities.

Best Art Museum

The Reykjavík Art Museum

Tryggvagata 17, 101 Reykjavík

Photo by Art Bicnick

The Reykjavík Art Museum consists of Hafnarhúsið, Ásmundarsafn and Kjarvalsstaðir. What is the difference between an art museum and an art gallery you may ask? Well, aside from public funding, an art museum’s task is to acquire, preserve and exhibit art for educational and cultural purposes. The Reykjavík Art Museum consistently lives up to that task by reaching out to the public and allowing citizens to communicate what they would like exhibited. The museum is constant in its mission of reminding all of us that this place is in public ownership and that it is something we should maintain and enjoy as a community.

Runner Up

The Living Art Museum

Grandagarður 20, 101 Reykjavík

Once again, we are channeling you good folks to the Marshall House in Grandi. The Living Art Museum (Nýlistasafnið) is a museum of contemporary art and stands as a dynamic force in the contemporary art scene. Founded in 1978 by a group of local artists, the space showcases experimental and innovative works by local and international artists. There is simply no denying its role in shaping the preservation and mediation of the last 40 years of Icelandic art.

Previous Winners

2023: Gerðarsafn

2022: Reykjavík Art Museum

2021: Reykjavík Art Museum