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: 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: The Power of Print - May 22 2025 — January 04 2026In the summer of 2025, The Power of Print opens, showcasing textiles from the greatest Danish fabric printers throughout history, and displaying new textiles from a select group of the most talented fabric printers of our time. The exhibition tells the story of an overlooked area in Danish craftsmanship and design, and for the first time, the lavish collection of Danish printed textiles from Designmuseum Danmark is presented on such a large scale.  

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):   Banu Cennetoğlu - BEING SAFE IS SCARY 19 mar – 10 aug 2025:Look forward to the first solo exhibition in Denmark by the Istanbul-based artist Banu Cennetoğlu. Through a series of works, the exhibition at Kunsthal Charlottenborg moves from societal issues to more intimate spheres. Critical investigations of the daily press, the migration flows through Europe and the UN Declaration of Human Rights are brought to dialogue with an extensive private image archive, connecting the small and large events of everyday life with urgent global issues.Cennetoğlu is interested in how the production and distribution of text- and image-based information contributes to shaping our world. Her practice often involves extensive collecting, cataloguing and archiving of materials, which subsequently manifest in carefully composed works with wide-reaching perspectives. By processing various types of textual and visual materials, she examines the function of such signs, their politics of memory, and the underlying interests or power structures they reveal. Disobedience Archive 19 mar – 10 aug 2025:Dive into an expansive collection of video works that map out various artistic strategies of resistance – and apply a rich diversity of historical, geographical, and social perspectives. Disobedience Archive explores the relationship between art and political action by examining how struggles for resistance are translated into moving images, thereby creating a form of artistic visual activism.The archive consists of a comprehensive and continuously growing collection of films chronicling nearly fifty years of social struggles across different parts of the world: from Italy’s Parco Lambro revolt in 1977 and the anti-globalisation protests of the 1990s, to the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, as well as battles for labour rights in Southeast Asia, global climate protests, struggles for LGBTQ+ and migrant rights, and demands for decolonisation among Europe’s former colonies. By connecting otherwise separate justice movements, the archive makes it possible to view them within a broader political context across time and place.Disobedience Archive is curated by Marco Scotini and has been presented at institutions worldwide since 2005, most recently at the Venice Biennale in 2024.  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 talentsIt 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): Soft Robots – The Art of Digital Breathing - 20 June – 31 December 2025The exhibition explores how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and synthetic biology shape our lives and identities. Fifteen artists and artist duos present works that reflect on the relationship between humans and machines, with a poetic and critical approach to the digital age. Inspired by H.C. Andersen’s The Nightingale and pan-Asian philosophies, the exhibition asks whether breath and soul can still be found in future landscapes filled with avatars and seductive machines. Several works are newly created for the exhibition, including pieces developed through the Collide Copenhagen residency in collaboration with CERN.

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.  Exhibotions (denfrie.dk): Sian Kristoffersen: Ice-pleasure - May 23 – September 21, 2025Sian Kristoffersen presents her largest solo exhibition to date at a Danish institution, specially created for the OSLO space at Den Frie. Ice-pleasure features an ambitious installation combining new and earlier works. Kristoffersen’s multidisciplinary practice draws inspiration from mythology, nature, science fiction, pop culture, and literature. Her works often take the form of evocative tableaus that shift between surreal fantasies, material memories, and everyday life—inviting a wide range of associations, emotions, and desires.

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 artist's art-historical themes in a present-day perspective. Gammel Strand is a locally rooted, internationally oriented art centre and cultural hub in the heart of Copenhagen. The exhibition program presents art that takes a critical and nuanced approach to the present and focuses on the big questions of the time – from the intimately personal to global dilemmas. Gammel Strand is also a platform for conversations, debates, and activities that bring people, art, and culture together in new communities. 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 the café, the charming courtyard, buy art books, posters, and design items in the shop.  

MAPS – Museum for Art in Public Spaces is one of the only museums in the world dedicated to exploring, communicating, and debating art in public spaces. The museum presents innovative exhibitions with Danish and international artists, showcasing how art can challenge, reflect, and change the world we live in. MAPS provides art projects in public spaces that dare to take new paths, creating unexpected encounters between people and urban spaces. At the museum, you can explore different exhibitions, participate in children's activities, guided tours, and other events. At MAPS’ café, you can enjoy sustainable reinterpretations of classic Danish open-faced sandwiches and toast, delicious cakes, freshly brewed coffee, organic wine and beer, and much more. The goal is for the food on your plate to contribute positively to our shared nature and climate. In 2022, MAPS Café became part of the international network Becoming CLIMAVORE as the first art institution in Denmark. Becoming CLIMAVORE was initiated by the London-based artist duo Cooking Sections, who have engaged art institutions across Europe and North America with the shared purpose of promoting more sustainable and climate-conscious eating habits. MAPS’ Collection The MAPS collection houses more than 18,000 works, sketches, and archival materials that collectively provide a unique insight into the history of art in public spaces across different times and spaces. The collection is exhibited regularly and is actively used in the museum’s educational programs, while selected artists are invited to engage with the works, creating new connections between the past, present, and future. Other Activities The museum also offers educational programs that teach children and youth about the significance of art in public spaces, equipping them with tools to become active participants in their own cultural life. Additionally, MAPS contributes to research that investigates and develops the role of art in public spaces, both in Denmark and internationally.