With a unique location in Copenhagen’s historic centre, near tourist attractions, the harbour boats, design companies and galleries, Designmuseum Danmark is a working archive and the entrance to Denmark as a design destination.
Experience one of the world’s largest collections of Danish design, counting works by Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen, Poul Kjærholm, Verner Panton and Hans Wegner. In addition, the collections cover applied art and design from Art Nouveau to contemporary Danish design and include glass, ceramics, fashion, textile and poster art.
The museum, situated right next to Amalienborg, is one of the finest examples of rococo architecture in Copenhagen. It offers thematic design exhibitions, special events, guided tours and workshops.
Visitors are also invited to explore our beautiful garden, the café with indoor and outdoor service, the museum shop, and library.
Special exhibitions:
Rocks of Greenland: 21.7.23-31.3.24
Join us on a journey to the depths of Greenland's underground, where gold and rubies sparkle. The exhibition ROCKS OF GREENLAND – KALAALLIT NUNAAT ROCKS invites the audience on a fascinating journey of the precious materials - from their extraction in the mines to their shimmering display as jewelry or artworks in the exhibition.
PROUD, 5.10.23-26.5.24
Join fashion designer Nicholas Nybro on a design adventure across Denmark, from Amager to Ærø and from Hirtshals to Højer, resulting in 21 vibrant, diverse, and modern folk and regional costumes.
The Future is Present, 19.6.22-31.12.24
Currently, designers around the world are working on solving some of our global challenges. Thinking radically and creatively, allowing themselves to be guided by both reason and emotion.
Akut, series
Welcome to an exhibition about what is happening on the design scene right now. AKUT showcases everything from trends and tendencies to design, which address current issues and provide new perspectives on design and crafts.
North Atlantic House
North Atlantic House is an art center where you can encounter North Atlantic art and culture. Here, people and artists from Iceland, Greenland, The Faroe Islands, Denmark - and the rest of the world - meet and inspire one another.
A visit to North Atlantic House is guaranteed to expand your horizon and stir your senses. You will find two exhibition rooms in which you can get a taste of North Atlantic culture through changing exhibitions, that shed light on the art scene of each of the three countries, in turn.
Furthermore, on specific days and evenings, you can experience everything from concerts, movies, presentations and events.
Explore North Atlantic art and culture in the beautiful warehouse from the 1700s. Built in 1767, North Atlantic House was the port for maritime traffic between Denmark and the North Atlantic for over 200 years.
Special Exhibitions (nordatlantens.dk):
GROUP PORTRAIT OF THE SELF, Hallgrímur Helgason; 10.2.24-26.5.24
In the exhibition Group Portrait of the Self, Icelandic painter Hallgrímur Helgason shows a series of works that put a new spin on the classic self-portrait.
For the past three years, Helgason has worked with the self-portrait as a way of portraying the many different voices or characters we may all find our minds populated by these days. There are people talking in there, and they do not always agree.
Here they stand side by side: the slow one, the brave one, the creative one, the livid one, the one who would rather have stayed in bed. Each portrait contains between six and sixteen figures, brought together like rock bands assembled by the brain’s crossed wires. Hallgrímur Helgason’s style is energetic, overwhelming, eclectic, fantastical, satirical and quite literally colourful.
The second half of the exhibition consists of works on paper from the 4Faced series. These fierce, imaginary portraits all contain four faces, visualising the multi-communicating human being that present-day society seems to demand. As Helgason himself puts it, it takes eight eyes to function in today’s world.
Hallgrímur Helgason (b. 1959) is perhaps best known in Denmark as a much-loved writer (60 Kilos of Sunshine being the latest published in Danish in 2021). But he began his artistic career as a visual artist and has maintained an active dual practice throughout. Focusing on new paintings and works on paper, the exhibition at the North Atlantic House is the first major presentation of Helgason in Denmark.
Authentic surroundings
These days, other ports serve the North Atlantic market, and the historic warehouse is now a thriving cultural centre, dedicated to the art and culture of Denmark’s former North Atlantic colonies Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.
North Atlantic artists are often inspired by the landscapes, light, and nature sounds of their region, which lends a fiercely visual, bodily, and musical quality to their art.
The rustic, maritime spirit of the old warehouse with its raw plank floors and exposed rafter ceilings offers a unique and beautiful contrast to the artworks on the display.
Nordic food
Visit the cultural centre to get your own first-hand impression of this intriguing harbour front area. The North Atlantic House is open all year round and offers a lovely café where you can enjoy a good glass of wine or a cup of coffee.
On the Nordatlantens Brygge Harbour Front you will find the Faroese and Greenlandic Representations, the Icelandic Embassy, and the culinary treasures of Restaurant Barr.
Related Attractions
Kunsthal Charlottenborg is one of the largest and most beautiful exhibition spaces for contemporary art in Northern Europe
The exhibition space presents an ambitious program with international outlook featuring talents as well as established stars from both Denmark and abroad. Kunsthal Charlottenborg presents uncompromising and agenda setting art still understandable for everyone. The trendsetting exhibition program is supplemented with a large number of activities like artist talks, performances, concerts and film screenings.
Ever since Kunsthal Charlottenborg opened in 1883, the venue has hosted exhibitions featuring many of the leading contemporary artists of the given times, accommodating many different types of shows and activities. Charlottenborg now celebrates its long history with a large-scale exhibition featuring all-new and older works alike. Together, they will evoke and add nuance to the history of Kunsthal Charlottenborg, a venue without a collection or a historical archive. Embracing chaos, affinities and time glitches, the exhibition Full of Days forges intuitive connections between historical moments and less-remembered shows, stories and events. Through a cacophony of voices, contemporary and historical artists are framed into a reflection on the elusiveness of time and the multiplicity of its representations, offering a non-linear account of one the Kunsthal’s possible histories.
Special Exhibithions (Kunsthalcharlottenborg.dk):
Thao Nguyen Phan, Reincarnations of Shadows: 13.3 – 11.8 2024
Visual artist Thao Nguyen Phan (b. 1987) intertwines mythology and folklore from her homeland’s turbulent past with current pressing issues of excessive consumption and the destruction of the earth’s resources. The intersection between the documentary and the supernatural take centre stage in this exhibition, which evokes ghostly presences, lush landscapes and unofficial narratives.
Charlottenborg Art Books The independent bookstore offers a distinctive selection of books and magazines, including publications in the fields of fine art, critical design, typography, literature, and theory.Apollo Bar & Canteen Apollo Bar & Canteen are Kunsthal Charlottenborg’s bar and dining place by chef and creator Frederik Bille Brahe. Every weekday from Tuesday to Friday, you can enjoy a healthy and delicious lunch at the canteen, and all week you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or an exciting dinner or just a cup of coffee, a glass of wine or a drink at the bar next to the courtyard.
Copenhagen Contemporary (CC) is Copenhagen’s international art center showing installation art created by world stars and new emerging talents
It occupies the magnificent former B&W welding hall offering a total of 7,000 m2 of beautiful industrial halls with plenty of space to show the technical and large formats in which many contemporary artists work: total installations, performance art, and monumental video works. Art that can often be entered and sensed with the whole body.
Copenhagen Contemporary is one of Scandinavia’s largest exhibition venues for contemporary art and a lively meeting place for a wide audience. CC creates collaborative partnerships and organises events with a number of different partners across cultural genres locally and internationally. You can attend art talks, art walks, concerts, creative workshops for children, visit CC’s own shop offering Scandinavian design, and experience the unique and historical city district of Refshaleøen.
Situated centrally in B&W’s iconic welding hall, CC is an international power hub in Copenhagen’s new cultural district. The special quality of this area continues to be defined by its industrial history: the area is raw and green with commanding views across Copenhagen Harbour. The district is a mix of first-class gourmet restaurants and small entrepreneurial initiatives; you can go for a dip in the sea, for a sauna, enjoy a glass of wine, and eat grilled food, buy quality bread and visit Copenhagen’s most popular food market with stalls from across the world and lounge areas by the water’s edge. Not forgetting the climbing, skating,and skiing activities, the flea market, and the theatre and music festivals, which are just some of the many activities this area has to offer.
Exhibtions (copenhagencontemporary.org):
Kapwani Kiwanga, The Length of the Horizon: 26.1.24-25.8.24
For her first major exhibition in Scandinavia, the internationally renowned artist Kapwani Kiwanga (b. 1978) explores social mechanisms and power dynamics through large-scale installations of plants, foliage, sand, colour and light. Just below the surface of Kiwanga’s seductively beautiful works lurk critical themes. Plants tell toxic stories of power imbalances, colours have manipulative effects and light is investigated as a political instrument.
Stretching across CC’s two biggest halls and 1600 m2 of space, the exhibition unfolds in a flow created by Kiwanga’s elegant handling of materials and their secrets. With her affinity for captivating, non-static experiences, the artist proposes fluidity as a sculptural principle in works permeated with the idea of continuous re-creation and adaptability.
Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art is a must see in Copenhagen for anyone interested in art and architecture.
Den Frie is closed between exhibitions. Please check the website before going.
Den Frie was founded by artists in 1898 and is one of the oldest venues for contemporary art in Denmark. It is in itself a unique and very beautiful wooden building designed by famous artist J.F. Willumsen.
Den Frie’s fundamental aim is to present the very latest in contemporary art. We host exhibitions by national and international artists, all of which address current issues. The extensive programme of exhibitions and events are evidence of Den Frie’s role as an active platform for living art and
art production, and the commitment to contribute to contemporary existence.
With its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, Den Frie is also a popular meeting place for artists, students, tourists and the many locals who pass by. As a visitor you’ll feel welcome and enjoy having your interest in contemporary art stimulated, whether you’re an art connoisseur or a beginner. On top of which the architecture alone is well worth a visit.
Den Frie also houses the café, Polykrom, where you can enjoy a delicious lunch or a well-made cup of coffee.
Exhibitions:
Marie Lund & Rosalind Nashashibi: O Rose, 10.2.24-7.4.24
O Rose is a collective exhibition, which grew out of a collegial relation and friendship between Danish sculptor Marie Lund and British-Palestinian filmmaker and painter Rosalind Nashashibi. The two artists work in different media and with different aesthetics. But there turns out to be methodological overlaps in the way they conceive their works and in the way their works open up to and absorb the lived life in which they are created.
The conversation between the two artists takes its starting point in Rosalind Nashashibi’s film Denim Sky. In this domestic sci-fi film, Rosalind Nashashibi explores ways of forming a community around her single parent family through, amongst other means, journeys into space and non-linear time. With this film in mind, Marie Lund created a new series of sculptures, Daily, which, through repetition and variations, similarly collapses the expectation of a linear time. Made from residual materials, paper pulp and rubber granules, the sculptures – in their own way – also speak of fragility and strength.
Welcome to Gammel Strand
A UNIQUE PLACE FOR ART LOVERSIn the heart of Copenhagen’s historical district right by the canalside lies Gammel Strand, an art institution focusing on modern and contemporary art. Gammel Strand showcases 6-8 exhibitions annually focusing on new Danish talent, the international contemporary art scene and artists art-historical themes in a present-day perspective.In connection with the series of exhibitions Gammel Strand regularly presents a perspectivizing programme of events involving talks and debates, literature readings, concerts and guided tours.
Visitors can also enjoy a break in the café with the charming courtyard, and buy art books, posters, and design items in the shop.
This spring, Gammel Strand presents an extensive exhibition with Yael Bartana (b.1970, Israel).
Through video works, photography and installations, Bartana explores current, complex issues of national and cultural identity, trauma and power structures. The exhibition presents a wide range of Bartana’s work, from early video works and photo series to her latest comprehensive film work Malka Germania (2021).
The exhibition runs from 2 February to the end of May 2024.
Special Exhibitions (gammelstrand.dk):
Slumping, Tove Storch; 02.02.24-20.05.24
Tove Storch opens a new path in her practice between the everyday and the alienating. With five new works created specifically for Gammel Strand, Storch explores subtle, unassuming gestures and showcases sculptures on a grand scale.Slumping is a craft technique within glass art and slang for exhaustion and laziness. In the exhibition, Storch demonstrates her unique understanding of the capabilities of materials as she tests their different strengths: Can silk break down metal? How does the liquid shape the solid? How does time affect shape? Through her choice of colors, motifs, and attitude, the works intertwine with archetypal narratives of the body, romance, and sexuality, gently shaking free from fixed interpretations.Tove Storch (b. 1981) graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 2007, from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 2004, and Weissensee Kunsthochschule Berlin in 2006. In 2021, she was awarded the prestigious Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Honorary Prize.
Things to Come, Yael Bartana; 02.02.24-20.05.24
Yael Bartana works with grand narratives. In Things to Come, she challenges the blind spots in our understanding of history and establishes new spaces of understanding between the actual and the imagined. She processes collective memories, origin myths, and some of the darkest chapters in human history, which she uses as raw material to formulate new narratives about the future.
The exhibition shows, among other things, Malka Germania, Bartana's most extensive film work to date, which revolves around the German-Jewish relationship in a dream-like future scenario in Berlin; Two Minutes to Midnight, a power- and gender-critical paraphrase of Stanley Kubrick's legendary science fiction film Dr. Strangelove; and Overcoming the Future about redemption and forgiveness.
Yael Bartana (b. 1970) was born and raised in Israel. Since the mid-00s, she has lived in Amsterdam and Berlin. Her works have been shown all over the world and are part of the collections of many prominent institutions. In January 2024, she was appointed as one of two artists to exhibit in the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2024.
KØS is Denmark's only museum dedicated to art in public spaces.
Enjoy changing exhibitions, events and debates about unique forms of art that we encounter in public spaces. Go exploring indoors over the three floors or outdoors on the artistic forecourt of artist Ann Lislegaard.
KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces is dedicated to researching, promoting, and debating public art nationally and internationally. The museum exhibits, produces and promotes art projects by national and international artists, initiates research that boosts the field theoretically, and collects and registers the material and digital traces of public art projects to ensure they are accessible in the present and preserved for posterity.
Combine your visit with a trip to KØS Café and museum shop with many exclusive design items.
Free guided tours the first Sunday of every month.Approx travel time from Copenhagen Central Station 35 mins. We recommend using journeyplanner.dk to plan your trip
Udstillinger (koes.dk):
'IN THE ARCHITECHT’S HOUSE - ELINA BROTHERUS ON ALVAR AALTO'; 01.03.24-02.06.24
In her three new photographic series, visual artist Elina Brotherus takes us deep into the heart of Alvar Aalto’s architecture. The new photographic series by Elina Brotherus, one of Finland’s most internationally acclaimed artists, are captured in three key Aalto buildings in Finland: Aalto’s home in Helsinki, his summer cottage also known as the ‘Experimental House,’ and the modernist masterpiece Paimio Sanatorium.
The three new series are now being exhibited for the first time in Denmark through a collaboration between KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces and the Alvar Aalto Museum, where they premiered in 2023. In 2019, the Aalto Foundation granted the artist exclusive access to photograph in Alvar and Aino Aalto’s home in Helsinki and Alvar’s and his second wife Elissa’s private summer villa, the Experimental House in Muuratsalo. The summer villa is a pilgrimage destination for designers and architects due to the couple’s numerous material experiments conducted in the central, beautiful courtyard. It is brought to life in Elina Brotherus’ masterfully composed photographs and takes on a new vitality and presence.
'(self)infatuation'
When a Country Falls in Love with Itself is the title of Elmgreen & Dragset’s artistic dialogue with the Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen’s world-famous sculpture, The Little Mermaid. Erected on Langelinie in 1913 as a gift to Copenhagen from brewer Carl Jacobsen, The Little Mermaid is undoubtedly the most viewed and photographed sculpture in Denmark today. The romantic sculpture is both a tourist magnet and a national symbol.
In 2008, the Danish-Norwegian artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset casually placed a mirror in front of the mermaid, in which she – the symbol of the nation – self-reflects. The resulting photographic artwork, When a Country Falls in Love with Itself seemed to indicate that she, the nation, is no longer so interested in gazing out to distant shores but prefers to admire herself. Like The Little Mermaid herself, When a Country Falls in Love with Itself is now a central piece in art history, illustrating how public art functions as focal points for interactions between different viewpoints. It is an example of how contemporary art can elegantly contribute to adding new layers and narratives on top of the already existing.
In 2012, Elmgreen & Dragset once again mirrored the small sculpture with symbolic significance when they created Han for Kulturværftet in Helsingør — a male version of The Little Mermaid who gazes longingly, not at himself, but out into the world. Unlike his sister on Langelinie, who is crafted in bronze, both Han and the stone he sits on are made of polished stainless steel, reflecting the surroundings and those who look at him. And if you are lucky enough to visit the sculpture at the right time, you may experience the young man on the stone opening his eyes and blinking. With Han, Elmgreen & Dragset invites us to look at both him – Han – and ourselves with a loving, but also investigative, curious gaze. Perhaps an invitation to fall in love with something other than ourselves?