Iceland – a boon for admirers of art and culture

For those who admire art and culture, Reykjavik can be a paradise as it has got everything from ancient Icelandic sagas to the feel of modern Icelandic art. One can sense the continuous flow of soft music coming from some corner 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Two main events of music and culture are organized every year in Reykjavik. They are the cultural night and the Reykjavik arts festival. Other than these two, numerous musical and cultural events are organized here all year round. Some of them are mentioned below.

Galleries

There are two types of galleries namely the general and the commercial gallery. Both these showcase a huge variety of arts ranging from archetypical Icelandic art to works done by modern and contemporary artists from Iceland. Exhibitions of foreign artists are also conducted here from time to time. Most of the art galleries are situated in Skolavordustigur and close to Laugavegur. Both these are very close to Reykjavik city centre. Entry to most of these art galleries is all free for local citizens. It is said about Icelandic art piece that an original one can be a best memento of your life

Museums

Glorious past of Iceland and its Vikings can be seen in many museums and galleries situated in Reykjavik. You can know every small fact connected with the history of Iceland at the national museum of Iceland whereas you can see a longhouse of the time of Vikings at the Reykjavik settlement exhibition. Moreover, you can get one on one with the literary history of Iceland at cultural house. Visual art is also developing in Reykjavik. The main galleries showcasing this are The National Gallery and The Three-Fold Reykjavik Art Museum. Many exhibition houses and small art galleries are present all around to increase the interest of visitors. Other famous exhibition area of Reykjavik are the open air folk museum, museum of photography and numismatic and electric and telecommunications museum.

Theater and opera


Reykjavik was selected as one of the most cultural cities of Europe in the year 2000 and still one cannot believe that it has held its reputation of being so. Reykjavik has numerous symphony orchestras, an opera house, many theatre companies and an Icelandic dance company which is very famous in Europe and North America. The capital city has accommodated two professional theatre companies and numerous amateur and independent groups. These two are the city theatre and the national theatre. These two groups have produced world class classics to very sharply done experimental works. Productions are all over Iceland and very often they get to see some production coming from some neighboring country. At the Icelandic opera house, one can hear the operas of all types. The specialty here is that here operas are sung in original with using Icelandic subtitles. The Icelandic dance company which lives in the city theatre focuses more in remixing traditional dance with a modern one.

Not only the citizens there but the visitors of Reykjavik also stay enchanted and captivated all year round by the continuous shows, performances and cultural happenings taking place there.

Author Bio:
Asberg Jonsson is the manager of Iceland Visitor, a company specializing in packages for Vacation in Iceland and day tours in Iceland. For more information visit www.icelandvisitor.com