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. New permanent exhibition from June 2024: DANISH MODERN Danish design is known and loved – both at home and abroad. But what led to its success, which designs are central, and who are the major Danish designers of the 20th century? The exhibition 'Danish Modern' unfolds the story of Danish design from the 1920s to the 1970s, focusing on the creation of some of the most iconic Danish design objects. Special exhibitions: PROUD, 5/10/23-29/9/24 Welcome to a contemporary narrative about folk and regional costumes. In the exhibition titled PROUD, visitors can explore 21 modern folk costumes created by designer Nicholas Nybro. These costumes are opulent, beautiful, humorous, distinctive, and thought-provoking, each telling stories about a region's identity, diversity, environmental spirit, and sense of belonging. Nybro, in his unique fashion, plays with symbols and aesthetics, challenging our perception of everyday wear, party wear, work attire, and costumes. Colors, materials, and designs unfold in a thrilling display of diversity. IRMA – A DESIGN STORY, 1/2/24-11/8/24 Step into the iconic blue Irma universe: The exhibition IRMA - A DESIGN STORY invites the audience to explore the fascinating design story of the supermarket chain Irma and unfolds the story of the supermarket that brought art and design into people's everyday lives.   IN LOVE & WAR, 26/4/24-5/1/25 Images of heroic warriors in battle and beautiful young people can be experienced in the exhibition 'In Love and War' at Designmuseum Danmark. The exhibition showcases carefully selected Japanese woodblock prints from the museum's large collection of Japanese craftsmanship.   In Love & War provides a rare glimpse into a period in Japan’s history when the shogun ruled and the country was isolated from the outside world. Here, the audience can experience images of beautiful young men and women from the so-called Edo period (1600-1868), when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled from the capital Edo, today Tokyo – as well as images of samurai and modern graphic war images from the Meiji period (1868-1912), where feudal rule under the shogun was replaced by a constitutional monarchy under Emperor Meiji. The title of the exhibition refers to the proverb “In love and war, all is fair” and alludes to the visual impact of the famous Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, one of the foremost art forms of the Edo period. The distinctive expression in the ukiyo-e idealized the daily life of the prostitutes of that time and served as visual propaganda in the form of war images with nationalist and patriotic undertones.   The Future is Present, 19.6.22-31.12.24 Is society more diverse or more homogeneous in the future? How will we prioritize and design our communities? How do we create healthy and nourishing relationships? Will our behavior become more socially oriented, or will we be further apart and become isolated? Which human values will be more important? What will the future look like, and what will design look like in the future? 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. They search extensively for inspiration, ask different questions, and envision themselves in the communities, whose lives they want to improve. 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.

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: CARL NIELSEN OG ANNE MARIE CARL-NIELSENS LEGAT 2024, 9. June - 4. August An inflatable iceberg that breathes slowly, a landscape of waving take-away cups, a circle of bronze sculptures, a printing press cut in half, and a giant aluminum relief shown for the first time since 1974 are just some of the highlights of the exhibition featuring artists Gerda Thune Andersen, Nina Beier, Jessie Kleemann, Simon Starling, and Gudrun Steen-Andersen, who in 2024 will receive the honorary award from the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Grant. Special Effect, May 4 - september 8, 2024 With Special Effect, Atiéna R. Kilfa presents a new body of works consisting of a short film and two large scale pencil drawings. In continuation of Kilfa’s investigation and restructuring of cinematic archetypes, Special Effect homes in on the nondescript figure of a man sitting at a desk. Shot in black and white, the film eerily evokes a timelessness of the figure by bringing it in resonance with pictorial genres reminiscent of various eras from German Expressionist cinema to the golden age of Hollywood film noir, fast forward to its 4K quality of today. By evoking these archetypes, figuration becomes a tool to examine the ciphers which make up our systems and their potential collapse.  

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): In the Shadow of Burning Light, 7/6/24-8/9/24 In just a few years, Christina Quarles has become a significant name on the international art scene. Now, she is being shown for the first time in the Nordic region in this extensive solo exhibition. The Time Before, 21/6/24–8/9/24 Anna Bjerger and Chantal Joffe present poetically strong paintings, showcasing a painterly kinship between two artists whose lives and works have intertwined. As young artists, Anna Bjerger and Chantal Joffe shared a studio, building a close relationship and a tight collaborative environment. Women, children, potted plants, fashion, and detailed, intimate scenes comprise the subject matter that characterizes both artists' universes. The upcoming exhibition at Gammel Strand delves into the narrative of friendship, community, and the loneliness of being in the middle of life and longing for what has already passed. Chantal Joffe (b. 1969) is a British Artist known for her paintings of people, some very large, often of family and friends, the emotional intensity of relationships between people and how that can be painted are what interest her. Chantal graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland and The Royal College of Art in London. Anna Bjerger (b. 1973) is a Swedish artist living and working in Småland. She graduated from Central St. Martins School of Art and Design and The Royal College of Art in London. In her poetic and figurative paintings, Bjerger explores subjects from the intimate sphere, ranging from a coffee cup or a pair of shoes to friendships and other close relationships.

Denmark’s museum for public art As Denmark’s only museum for public art, KØS collects sketches, scale models, and a variety of other preliminary works for the art that is placed or takes place in public spaces in Denmark. These are artworks that many feel ownership of because they are close to us in everyday life, and therefore are often the subject of wonder, discussion, disapproval, and interest among local users. The finished works are typically placed permanently somewhere out there, unless they take place as temporary projects that over a period occur in more or less direct interaction with the audience. The works themselves therefore do not form part of the museum’s collection, which instead through drawings, watercolors, and models in plaster, clay, paper, and wood or in the form of project descriptions, notes and sketches, films and photos etc., shows the quality of and the range in the country’s publicly placed works. The collection’s often impressive sketch sequences, which typically can accommodate many phases in the artistic creation process - from early, loose drafts to gradually more detailed studies and composition sketches to final, thoroughly worked templates and working drawings - can be studied when the museum shows collection exhibitions. The Queen’s tapestries The main works in the museum’s collection are visual artist Bjørn Nørgaard’s extensive sketch material for Queen Margrethe II’s tapestries, which she received as a gift from Danish Business in 2000. The sketch material for the 10-year-long work process consists of 11 colorful cartoons in full size with a wealth of historical motifs. Changing collection exhibitions The KØS Collection is regularly shown in collection exhibitions at the museum and typically consists of a mix of new acquisitions and known works from the collection. Read about our current exhibitions here. The collection consists of more than 18,000 unique sketches, models and preliminary works for art in public spaces and an archive that documents processes and conflicts around art in public spaces. Selections from the collection are regularly exhibited at the museum and activated in KØS’ teaching, just as artists are periodically invited to engage in dialogue with the KØS collection and KØS as an institution. Explore indoors over three floors or outside on the artistic forecourt by visual artist Ann Lislegaard. Combine the visit with a trip to the KØS Café and the museum shop with exclusive design items. Free guided tour the first Sunday of every month."   Current exhibitions: 'IN THE ARCHITECHT’S HOUSE - ELINA BROTHERUS ON ALVAR AALTO'; 01.03.24-04.08.24 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. Bjørn Nørgaard’s sketches for the Queen’s tapestries In 2001, KØS acquired visual artist Bjørn Nørgaard’s 1:1 cartons for the Queen’s tapestries, which can be experienced in the Tapestry Hall on the 3rd floor of the museum. With an enormous wealth of detail and a vivid color palette, Bjørn Nørgaard has depicted 1,000 years of Danish history in the form of 17 tapestries that stretches from the age of the Vikings through the Middle Ages and the Reformation through the dictatorship and World War II to our time and the future. Through a multitude of events, people and symbols, Bjørn Nørgaard presents his view of the course of history, where Danish history intertwines with world history, religious history and the history of art and culture. Meet a diverse gallery of people who have all left their distinct mark on history – from Jeanne D’Arc and Niels Bohr to John F. Kennedy and Karen Blixen.