Culture Night | Egill and Pétur in Big Little City – Reykjavík in View
Reykjavík Art Museum – Kjarvalsstaðir, Flókagata 24, 105 Reykjavík Directions
Sat 22.08.2026 20:00
Egill Helgason, media personality and cultural critic, together with Pétur Ármannsson, architect and scholar, will guide visitors through the exhibition Big Little City – Reykjavík in View at Kjarvalsstaðir.
What is the image of Reykjavík, past and present? Here, we see the city evolve from a trading post and fishing village into a multicultural center of culture and tourism, depicted in a lively, fragmented, and ever-changing way. The exhibition raises questions about identity, urban planning, social structure, and cultural self-perception. The tangible is displayed alongside the lyrical, the historical, and the artistic, the personal and the collective. How does art help us see the familiar in a new light?
Pétur Ármannsson has worked as an architect and independent scholar and spent many years building up and directing the Architecture Department of the Reykjavík Art Museum. He has written numerous books and articles and has taught extensively on Icelandic architecture. Egill Helgason is a familiar face to most Icelanders through his work in the media. In addition to his commentary on contemporary culture and politics, he has produced documentary programs on Iceland’s settlement and urban history.
Together, Egill and Pétur created the television series Bæir byggjast (Towns Take Shape), an engaging program about the planning and development of towns and communities throughout Iceland. On Culture Night, they will explore the history of Reykjavík through a diverse selection of artworks and fascinating objects.
Free admission on Culture Night.
Pétur Ármannsson has worked as an architect and independent scholar and spent many years building up and directing the Architecture Department of the Reykjavík Art Museum. He has written numerous books and articles and has taught extensively on Icelandic architecture. Egill Helgason is a familiar face to most Icelanders through his work in the media. In addition to his commentary on contemporary culture and politics, he has produced documentary programs on Iceland’s settlement and urban history.
Together, Egill and Pétur created the television series Bæir byggjast (Towns Take Shape), an engaging program about the planning and development of towns and communities throughout Iceland. On Culture Night, they will explore the history of Reykjavík through a diverse selection of artworks and fascinating objects.
Free admission on Culture Night.
Performers
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Culture night Lucky Records
CultureNight is a festival of arts, food and all kinds of entertainment, marking Reykjavik's foundation anniversary.
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Pétur Ármannssonarkitekt og sviðsstjóri húsverndarsviðs, Minjastofnun Íslands
