Street Art & Murals

Reykjavík's Colorful Walls

For a city of its size, Reykjavík has an astonishingly vibrant street art scene. The colorful corrugated iron houses provide perfect canvases, and the city actively encourages mural painting. The best murals can be found in the following districts:

• Laugavegur & Side Streets: Around the main street and Hverfisgata, you'll find the highest density of murals — from huge whale paintings to abstract art and political statements
• Grandi Harbor District: The old warehouses and fish factories are increasingly adorned with large-scale murals
• Breiðholt & Grafarvogur: In the suburbs, there is surprisingly good street art that most tourists miss

Particularly well-known are the works of Sara Riel, Guido van Helten (whose photorealistic portrait of an Icelandic fisherwoman on a house wall in Grandi became world-famous), and the collective Urban Nation. Every summer, the Wall Poetry Festival takes place, where international artists create new murals.

The Marshall House gallery at the harbor houses contemporary art as well as a studio by Ólafur Elíasson (the Harpa designer) and the Gallery Kling og Bang — Iceland's most important address for contemporary art.