Events

Tuesday Lecture: Loyal dogs and clever cats. Are pets animals? [Icelandic]

At lunchtime on most Tuesdays, the National Museum of Iceland hosts a variety of events, including film screenings, guided tours and lectures.

Gunnar Theodór is a writer with a PhD in literary studies, but above all, he is a great animal lover. He has explored animals in both fiction and academic research. His works include the children’s book Steindýrin (2008) and the novel Sláturtíð (2018), as well as his doctoral dissertation, in which Gunnar examined representations of animals in culture and the arts and how our ideas about other animals can shape our ethical relationship with them.

To mark the exhibition Like Cats and Dogs, Gunnar Theodór will give a short talk about dogs and cats in Icelandic storytelling traditions and culture. He will also discuss pet ownership within the broader context of human–animal coexistence in urban society.

The lecture is in Icelandic.

The lecture is included with museum admission. Please note that your admission ticket also serves as an annual pass, giving you unlimited access to the museum's exhibitions and events for one year from the date of purchase. Admission to all exhibitions and events is free for children and young people under 18 years of age.‍

Welcome to a guided tour of the exhibition Valgerður with art theorist Aðalheiður Lilja Guðmundsdóttir, Wednesday 30th of September at 12:15. Aðalheiður wrote about Valgerður Briem’s influential career as an art teacher in the book Myndvit: The Legacy of Valgerður Briem, which was published alongside the exhibition.

Admission is free and everybody welcome!

Aðalheiður Lilja Guðmundsdóttir (b. 1968) is an independent researcher and writer in the field of art theory, philosophy and fine art. In the years 2010–2021, she worked as a lecturer and head of art theory and art history studies at the Fine Arts Department of the Iceland University of the Arts, where she is still teaching art theory courses as well as at the University of Iceland. She has carried out various projects in the fields of art theory and fine art, including research, writing and exhibition making. Her research is in the field of contemporary art, artists’ books and gender studies in the arts. From the year 2024, she is on the board of the Icelandic Art Center. Aðalheiður Lilja studied philosophy at the University of Iceland and philosophy of art at the University of Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne.

More about the exhibition:

Valgerður Briem (1914–2002) was an artist, teacher and pioneer in the field of art education. Her life’s work developed through the interplay between her own artistic practice and her teaching, with form, colour, material and visual thinking at its core. Valgerður first exhibited publicly as an artist at the Autumn Exhibition of the Association of Icelandic Artists in 1980, at the age of sixty-six. Behind that moment lay decades of sustained work: drawings, watercolours, wax works, sketches, lettering and patterns. When Valgerður’s family donated approximately 1,640 works on paper to Gerðarsafn in 2006, the true scope of her life’s work became fully visible for the first time.

Gerðarsafn received a two-year research grant from the Icelandic Museum Fund to undertake the first comprehensive study of Valgerður Briem’s life and work, lead by Cecilie Gaihede. The project combines art-historical research into her artistic practice with its presentation through an exhibition and publication, Myndvit - The Legacy of Valgerður comprised of scholarly essays addressing Valgerður’s art, teaching and approach.

GH Gypsy Trio featuring Paulus Schäfer

Join us for an unforgettable night of gypsy jazz! The concert features the Gunnar Hilmarsson Gypsy Jazz Trio, a leading figure in the Icelandic gypsy jazz scene . This time, they are joined by a truly phenomenal guest: Paulus Schafer, one of the world's leading gypsy jazz guitarists today. Schafer has shared the stage with icons like Stochelo Rosenberg, Bireli Lagrene, Peter Beets, Jan Akkerman, Antoine Boyer, and Martin Taylor. To make the night even more special, the renowned violinist Dan Cassidy will appear as a special guest.

Paulus Schäfer, guitar

Gunnar Hilmarsson, guitar

Jóhann Guðmundsson, guitar

Leifur Gunnarsson, bass

Dan Cassidy, violin

The concert starts at 20 @ Björtuloft, Harpa Concert House. Tickets ISK 5200.

Sinfóníuhljómsveitin opnar dyrnar að lokaæfingum á tónleikadegi fyrir flesta áskriftartónleika í gulri, rauðri og grænni tónleikaröð. Hægt er að kaupa aðgang að æfingunum í miðasölu Hörpu og á sinfonia.is. Lokaæfingin hefst kl. 10:00 en aðgangur er takmarkaður við ákveðin sæti í Eldborg á 1. svölum. Þetta er tilvalið tækifæri til að dýpka upplifun og skilning á tónlistinni sem flutt verður á tónleikum um kvöldið.

Tekið skal fram að æfingarnar eru ekki tónleikar, heldur vinnuæfingar og dagskrá þeirra því ekki endilega í fullu samræmi við tónleika kvöldsins.

A relaxed, welcoming art gathering for immigrant families and anyone seeking connection and community. Join to paint, weave, sing, play or simply be.

• Gerðuberg City Library

• Every thursday, from October 1st to December 3rd, 14:00 - 16:00

• Free, no prior art experience needed

• Everyone is welcome, especially children and young people.

• Free coffee and refreshments.

The event is organised by Geta Samtök.

Handicrafts & Book Chat

Do you love knitting or crocheting as well as reading and chatting about good books? Then these meetups are something for you.

We will meet on Thursdays between 3 pm and 5 pm in the Handicraft Corner on the 2nd floor in Grófin.

It’s nice to combine those two interests and even better to connect with others who share the same passion.

Guðrún Dís, amateur knitter, takes care of the meetups, shows up with some interesting books and leads the discussion.

This is not a traditional reading club because you don’t have to read specific books before each meeting. Just show up and take part!

The meetups can be in Icelandic and/or English, depending on the group.

No registration needed, just pop in when you are in the mood for good company.

Further information:

Guðrún Dís Jónatansdóttir

[email protected] | 411 6115

Canadian cellist Bryan Cheng, who has had a meteoric rise to stardom, plays Robert Schumann's intimate and poetic Cello Concerto. Despite the initial mixed reception, the concerto has established itself as one of the best-known cello concertos of the Romantic period. The music of French composer Charlotte Sohy has received increased attention in recent years. The Symphony in C-sharp minor is a woman's moving description of a war where there is little emphasis on heroism and more on fear and uncertainty. The concert also features a short, sunny overture by Lili Boulanger that captures the spring mood in Paris as nature awakens from its winter slumber. Finally, Beethoven's powerful Third Leonora Overture will be played, which is popular as an independent orchestral work. Conducting the concert is the young conductor, Bar Avni, who was the winner of the La Maestra Conducting Competition in 2024 and her career has been on a rapid rise in recent years.

Program

Lili Boulanger: D'un matin de printemps / Of a Spring Morning

Robert Schumann :Cello Concerto

Charlotte Sohy: Symphony in C sharp minor "Grand Guerre"

Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3

Conductor

Bar Avni

Soloist

Bryan Cheng

Stories of the Heart is a 70-minute solo concert experience with Thor Breidfjord, alone on stage with voice, piano and guitar.

On this intimate evening, Thor presents brand-new songs in English and Icelandic, woven together with personal storytelling. Narration is in Icelandic. The concert draws on the people, places and moments that have shaped him, from childhood in the north and family roots among the islands of Breiðafjörður to theatre, music, love, memory, loss and the strange little sparks that become songs.

Known for his international musical theatre career, Thor now places the singer-songwriter at the centre. These concerts continue the journey begun with his ECMA-nominated album Running Naked.

No band. No grand spectacle. Just the performer, his instruments and the stories that still beat under the songs.