It has been announced which museums will be nominated for the 2026 Icelandic Museum Awards.
“The Icelandic Museum Award is a recognition that goes to an Icelandic museum for outstanding activities in its field. The award is given every other year, but its first presentation took place in 2000,” says a joint announcement from the Iceland Division of ICOM, the International Council of Museums, and the Association of Icelandic Museums and Museums (FÍSOS) which in unison stand for the prize.
The award will be presented for the 15th time this year on International Museum Day, celebrated on May 18. The award is presented by the President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, at a ceremony in Kjarvalsstadir and the event is open to everyone.
Nominations are due this time (in alphabetical order):
- City History Museum Reykjavík: Inclusion and strong connections with the community
- Art Gallery of Iceland: Resistance to forgery of paintings
- Eastern Heritage Museum: Kjarval in Eastern Europe
- Árna Magnússon’s foundation: World in words
- Eastland’s Museum of Technology: Construction and restoration
Below you can see the reasoning of the selection committee:
“With its exhibitions, the Reykjavík City History Museum has strengthened historical and social awareness, creative thinking and open-mindedness,” says the rationale of the selection committee.
City History Museum Reykjavík – Inclusion and strong connections with the community
“The City History Museum has worked purposefully and professionally for validation in accordance with international and urban strategic priorities. Projects organized by the museum have produced tangible results, both in increased access and in changing working methods.
The museum has worked on a comprehensive approach that touches all aspects of museum work and has thereby created a unique position in Iceland where equal emphasis is placed on education, socially responsible projects and the development of valid museum work. Projects run by the museum have strengthened its relationship with society, increased the visibility of marginalized groups and demonstrated ways to create new opportunities for social participation. The museum has also contributed to a changing view of the role of museums far and wide as an active and shaping social force.
Reykjavík City History Museum has, with its exhibitions, strengthened historical and social awareness, creative thinking and open-mindedness. Through ambitious exhibitions, the museum has aroused interest and curiosity as well as promoting the diversity of its holdings. The museum has set itself the goal of being a platform for different voices and attitudes, creative discussion and critical thinking.
Examples of projects that were carried out from the point of view of social inclusion include sign language guidance and cooperation with the deaf, visual lighting and cooperation with the blind and visually impaired, rational perspectives, queer issues and rainbow certification, together with community projects with different partners.”
“The exhibition is based on decades of work by the museum’s experts, contributes to increased knowledge of Icelandic art history and strengthens critical thinking in relation to the authenticity and origin of works of art,” says the rationale of the selection committee.
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The Íslands Museum of Art – Resistance to forgery of paintings
“In recent decades, the Icelandic Museum of Art has contributed to the fight against forgery of works of art in Iceland. An important step in this fight is the exhibition Ráðgátan om Rauðmagann and other stories about imitations and forgeries, which opened in the Icelandic Museum of Art in April 2025.
At the exhibition, nine stories of fake works were told and compared to the non-fake works of the respective artists. The exhibition Ráðagátan om Rauðgann and other stories about imitations and forgeries is a unique and timely contribution to Icelandic museum work, where academic research, professional responsibility and creative communication come together, for the benefit of the public. By showing fake and non-fake works side by side, opening up research data and making a complex subject accessible, the exhibition managed to shed light on a sensitive but urgent issue in a responsible way.
The exhibition is based on decades of work by the museum’s experts, contributes to increased knowledge of Icelandic art history and promotes critical thinking in relation to the authenticity and origin of works of art. The exhibition was accompanied by a wide range of educational activities and good accessibility through digital communication, which is shared on the museum’s website through a 3D scan. Courses were held for the public on forgeries in a historical context and scientific methods for investigating the origin of paintings and, in general, how to avoid forgeries.
General knowledge of Icelandic art history is an important defense against forgeries, and the Íslands Museum of Art has put its weight in the balance with an ambitious and bold discussion of sensitive aspects of Icelandic art history that have so far not received professional and detailed presentation and discussion like this.”
“The project is an excellent example of how museum work can create a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen connections between regions of the country and increase children’s and young people’s access to art and cultural history,” says the selection committee’s reasoning.
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The Museum of Austurland – Kjarval in Austurland
“The Kjarval á Austurlandi project was an ambitious two-year collaborative project between cultural institutions in the East and Reykjavík that dealt with the artist Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval and his connection to the East. Its aim was to discuss the artist, his history and connection to the region in a variety of ways. The initiative of the project came from the Museum of the East in Egilsstaðir, but it was based on three main pillars, collaboration with Sláturhúsið, the Cultural Center of Fljótsdalshérað in Egilsstaðir, and the art center Skaftfell in Seyðisfjörður, as well as the participation of the Icelandic Art Gallery and the City Theatre.
The first pillar was the exhibition of the Kjarval Museum of Eastern Iceland in Austurland, which opened in 2024 in collaboration with Sláturhúsið cultural centre. The exhibition discussed the life of the artist Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval and his relationship with the East in a diverse and original way. The second pillar was the children’s and family theater show Kjarval, which was staged in collaboration with Borgarleichúsið.
The exhibition was staged four times in Sláturhúsin, and middle school students from all over East Iceland were invited to come and enjoy the work. The third pillar was an art exhibition of the same name in Skaftfell in 2025, where over 300 students in schools in the East and North East were invited to a guided tour of the exhibition together with an art workshop, which was inspired by Kjarval’s work.
The project is an excellent example of how museum work can create a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen connections between regions of the country, and increase children’s and young people’s access to art and cultural history. It was particularly successful in drawing attention to Kjarval’s connections with the East, which are not a given in the awareness of younger generations. Kjarval in Austurland is done comprehensively and professionally. The project has great educational and social value and is a model for other cultural institutions.”
“The goals of the exhibition are clear and important, and they were achieved in a professional and purposeful way. The exhibition encourages open-mindedness, creativity and learning by shedding light on the diversity of the nation’s language, culture and history,” says the selection committee’s reasoning.
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Árna Magnússon’s foundation – World in words
“The exhibition World in Words was opened in November 2024 by the Árna Magnússon Foundation for Icelandic Studies. Its main purpose is to open up to visitors the otherwise closed world of manuscripts and shed light on their diverse and rich content through an accessible and elaborate presentation in language and images. Ancient stories and well-known poems play a key role in it, but at the same time attention is directed to various other texts that reflect the world of ideas of previous generations about their life, environment and society.
The exhibition revolves around creation in a broad sense, on the one hand the creation of the world and on the other hand the creation of manuscripts, but also the constant re-creation that takes place in language. Emphasis is placed on diverse means of communication to make the material alive and accessible to different groups of visitors of all ages. In addition to viewing scripts, visitors can delve into texts via touch screens, watch films, listen to readings and participate in interactive programs.
The objectives of the exhibition are clear and important, and they were achieved in a professional and targeted manner. The exhibition encourages open-mindedness, creativity and learning by highlighting the diversity of the nation’s language, culture and history.”
“Austurland’s technology museum is a clear example of how it is possible to turn defense into attack with professionalism, resilience and purposeful cooperation,” says the rationale of the selection committee.
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Eastland’s Museum of Technology – Construction and restoration
“The Technical Museum of the East is a clear example of how it is possible to turn defense into attack with professionalism, resilience and purposeful cooperation. In recent years, the museum has faced unprecedented challenges following landslides in 2020, but the response of the staff has been both powerful and instructive for the Icelandic museum community. Instead of giving up in overwhelming situations, they have worked purposefully to rescue, record and preserve relics under challenging conditions.
At the same time, the museum has used this period of transformation to review its overall strategy and shape its future vision. That strategy has laid the foundation for an ambitious structure where the emphasis is placed on professional working methods, teamwork and close cooperation with the community in the East and professionals elsewhere. These include the restoration of the Angró wharf house, where special emphasis is placed on house protection and the preservation of cultural heritage for the future.
Despite being in a construction phase, the museum has maintained strong communication and exhibition activities. The exhibition Búðareyri – a story of transformation is among them, but it was opened only a year and a half after the disaster and has attracted attention for its innovative approach. The museum has also maintained a strong presence through digital media, events and communication in public spaces, which ensures continued connections with the community despite limited exhibition space.
