The many historic landmarks sprinkled around Copenhagen are accompanied by an equally impressive number of museums, most of which will be hosting exhibitions of some shape or form this Fall.
Bertha Wegmann: Arrangement with Field Bouquet and the Artist’s Palette, (1880s). (Photo: The Hirschsprung Collection.)
Situated on the coastal islands of Zealand and Amager, the Danish capital draws large numbers of tourists each year. And while it is undeniably an expensive city to visit, its museums are typically among the cheaper attractions. If you’re visiting Copenhagen in Fall, then you can be sure that many of its museums and other cultural venues will be staging exhibitions at this time of year – and we’ve picked out 7 to look out for below.
Women Visualising the Modern: Danish Art 1880-1910
The social, political and literary movement known as the Modern Breakthrough is a major part of the back-story of the birth of contemporary Denmark. Emerging in Scandinavia in the late 19th-century, the movement was primarily defined by male writers creating new, narratives. However, men were not the only ones with something to say. This exhibition showcases some of the female artists who broke onto the art scene during this seminal period in Denmark’s history, presenting an assortment of works that unpack how their creators renegotiated subjects, themes and strategies they encountered in mainstream art.
Hirschsprung Collection / Through 12 January 2025
IKONO Immersive Experiences
(Photo: IKONO)
One of Copenhagen’s most unique attractions, offering visitors an immersive journey through eclectic worlds that combine art, play and the unexpected, IKONO have got big plans this autumn. Families are being invited to thrust themselves a world of self-discovery in a shared, kid-friendly experiences that will spark your imagination and bring you closer to your loved ones, giving you shared and lasting memories. Each of the 12 interactive rooms deliver a metaphorical hand-grenade to the senses, whether it be through creative play, emotional connection, or ‘wow’ moments that surprise and delight in equal measure. www.ikonocopenhagen.com.
IKONO / Through Fall 2025
Margarine
(Photo: Frida Gregersen, Medical Museion)
Invented as an alternative to butter in 1869, margarine gained instant popularity due to it being cheap and offering a high-calorie, durable food. But below its surface lurks fascinating stories of war, globalisation, dead whales, enraged butter farmers, trans-fatty acids, processed foods, and saved lives. This exhibition demonstrates how the decisions we make about what we eat, our understanding of how blood vessels function, and the statistics of human health have been deeply linked in both Danish and international history. Visitors can explore two rooms, one filled with historical objects, film clips, sounds and objects relating to margarine, and the other featuring an interactive installation where the audience can shape soft margarine with the movements of their own bodies and limbs.
Medical Museion / 22 March – 22 December 2024
The Cup and the Potter
This exhibition delves into the long history of ceramics – the art of crafting hardened, heated clay into pots, cups and other items – through a presentation of selected ceramic cups gleaned from the Design Museum’s extensive collection. Handmade cups by a total of 30 Danish ceramicists ranging from the 1600s through to the current day will be on display, taking visitors on a journey through expressions, materials, and techniques, as well as providing a unique behind-the-scenes look at the design process that goes into each individual cup.
Design Museum Denmark / 15 November 2024 – 27 May 2025
Against All Odds – Historical Women and New Algorithms
(Photo: SMK, National Gallery of Denmark)
During the years 1870-1910, a number of Nordic female artists achieved success despite it being a time when women in the region were often denied entrance to the arts world. However, despite their achievements, they were later forgotten and erased from history. So what exactly transpired? By showcasing digitised artworks by two-dozen artists from this period, this innovative exhibition investigates this question by bringing the artists back under the spotlight and exploring how AI can be used to understand and communicate history in fresh and original ways.
National Gallery of Denmark / Through 8 December 2024
Travelling
Denmark’s first museum dating back to 1848, The Thorvaldsen Museum celebrates the work of world-famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. This exhibition focuses on Thorvaldsen’s many adventures and travels, providing insight into the practicalities, pleasures and risks associated with travelling, both as an outer and inner journey, and revealing the inspiring landscapes and cultural encounters that served to mould Thorvaldsen’s life. It also shines a light on how the romanticised image we often have of travel today was not always an accurate reflection of the reality of Thorvaldsen’s time.
Thorvaldsens Museum / 9 October 2024 – 26 February 2025
Gilded Mummy Masks
(Photo: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek)
To ensure a successful afterlife in ancient Egypt, it was considered important to preserve the identity of the deceased by including a portrayal in the grave. Among the collection at the Glyptoteket museum are a variety of such portrayals in the form of gilded mummy masks used to cover the face of the deceased from the 1st to the 3rd century CE. This pop-up exhibition features three of these masks, shedding light on the kind of materials and techniques the Egyptians used to make them, and how they were used.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek / Through 6 October 2024
AI Weiwei: Water Lilies #1
Acclaimed artist and exiled Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei brings his eye-catching 2022 installation to Ordrupgaard Museum, where it will remain through Fall and into early next year. This mesmerising work contains over 650,000 Lego bricks and, with a length of some 15 metres, is the largest Lego work ever created by Weiwei. The huge installation modifies one of the world’s most iconic impressionist paintings, Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, with the notable addition of an disquieting black portal among the colourful water lilies, designed to represent his formative childhood years spent with his father in a Chinese work camp when they had to survive without light or water.
Ordrupgaard / Through 19 January 2025