During the gray and dark days of winter the street art and amazing murals of downtown Reykjavík and the colorful old houses combine to make Reykjavík into a truly vibrant and colorful small city.
The murals and street art can be found both on Laugavegur or other major thoroughfares, in back alleys, construction sites and industrial areas. Some are huge, covering three or four story buildings, others are tiny. What they all have in common is that they come and go. Street art is by its nature non-permanent.
Read more: The disappeared street art of downtown Reykjavík, Vol. 1
Most of the murals and street art in these photos is still up (November 2018), but some have either been damaged by vandals and taggers, painted over, the buildings torn down or the walls disappeared behind new construction.
All the photos were taken by friends and readers of Iceland Insider: We apologize if we got some of the names wrong! Please send us a note if there are errors 🙂
If you have photos of graffiti or street art from Reykjavík or elsewhere in Iceland please send them to us! [email protected], or through our Facebook page.
#1 Giant mural on Laugavegur Photo/Megan McVeigh Maisel
#2 Whole wall mural near old harbor Photo/Miranda Halaby
#3 Bjargarstígur street One of our favorite murals in Þingholtin Photo/Jennifer Marshall Schuyler
#4 A different angle Photo/Emilia Boguslawa Slabon
#5 Laugavegur Photo/Krissy Strachan
#6 Giant mural between Hverfisgata and Bankastræti streets Photo/Samuela Blómsdóttir
#7 Laugavegur above Hlemmur square Photo/Emilia Boguslawa Slabon
#8 A different angle Photo/Carsten Weirich
#9 A mural on Njálsgata street Photo/Rita Kingman
#10 Þingholtin back alley Photo/Alysoun Wells
#11 Giant mural near old harbor Photo/Dally Bartel
#12 A different angle Photo/Brian Simpson
#13 Mural on Vesturgata street, near Grandi Photo/Carsten Weirich
#14 Abandoned industrial building near Grandi Photo/Carsten Weirich
#15 Mural in Grandi Photo/Tammy Tanbusch
#16 A mural in Vesturbær neighborhood Photo/Sonja Weirich
#17-20 Murals on the corner of Skólavörðustígur, Grettisgata and Vegamótastígur streets Photo/Nadine Steinbach
#21 Car park between Bergstaðastræti and Ingólfsstræti streets Photo/Markku J Sade
#22 Small mural on the corner of Bergstaðastræti and Bjargarstígur streets Photo/Pia Ilenius
#23 Small mural on Hverfisgata street Photo/Krissy Strachan
#24 Mural on Hverfisgata Photo/Krissy Strachan
#25 Mural in Vesturbær Photo/Graham Littlewood
#26 One of the figures in Vesturbær Photo/Dana Sternberg
#27 Another Vesturbær figure Photo/Dana Sternberg
#28 Third Vesturbær figure Photo/Dana Sternberg
#29 Back alley graffiti Photo/Brian Holland
#30 One of the sign for Babalú café on Skólavörðustígur Photo/Andreas Flugge
#31 More commercial street art, this on Laugavegur Photo/Vesna Ranisavlevic
#32 A small park next to Hallgrímskirkja church Photo/Markku J Sade
#33 Alley behind Laugavegur Photo/Graham Littlewood
#34 A poem Photo/Graham Littlewood
#35 Corner of Laugavegur and Klappastígur streets Photo/Emilia Boguslawa Slabon
#36 A detail of the same building Photo/Bw Elzinga
#37 A whale in Keflavík Photo/Nadine Steinbach
#38 Bergstaðastræti street Photo/Markku J Sade
#39 The same underpass on Bergstaðastræti Photo/Markku J Sade
#40 Another interesting back alley work Photo/Ian Herbert
#41 One of the many murals on Skúlagata street Photo/Markku J Sade
#42 Some of the street art is literally on the street itself! Photo/Margaret Thorson
During the gray and dark days of winter the street art and amazing murals of downtown Reykjavík and the colorful old houses combine to make Reykjavík into a truly vibrant and colorful small city.
The murals and street art can be found both on Laugavegur or other major thoroughfares, in back alleys, construction sites and industrial areas. Some are huge, covering three or four story buildings, others are tiny. What they all have in common is that they come and go. Street art is by its nature non-permanent.
Read more: The disappeared street art of downtown Reykjavík, Vol. 1
Most of the murals and street art in these photos is still up (November 2018), but some have either been damaged by vandals and taggers, painted over, the buildings torn down or the walls disappeared behind new construction.
All the photos were taken by friends and readers of Iceland Insider: We apologize if we got some of the names wrong! Please send us a note if there are errors 🙂
If you have photos of graffiti or street art from Reykjavík or elsewhere in Iceland please send them to us! [email protected], or through our Facebook page.
#1 Giant mural on Laugavegur Photo/Megan McVeigh Maisel
#2 Whole wall mural near old harbor Photo/Miranda Halaby
#3 Bjargarstígur street One of our favorite murals in Þingholtin Photo/Jennifer Marshall Schuyler
#4 A different angle Photo/Emilia Boguslawa Slabon
#5 Laugavegur Photo/Krissy Strachan
#6 Giant mural between Hverfisgata and Bankastræti streets Photo/Samuela Blómsdóttir
#7 Laugavegur above Hlemmur square Photo/Emilia Boguslawa Slabon
#8 A different angle Photo/Carsten Weirich
#9 A mural on Njálsgata street Photo/Rita Kingman
#10 Þingholtin back alley Photo/Alysoun Wells
#11 Giant mural near old harbor Photo/Dally Bartel
#12 A different angle Photo/Brian Simpson
#13 Mural on Vesturgata street, near Grandi Photo/Carsten Weirich
#14 Abandoned industrial building near Grandi Photo/Carsten Weirich
#15 Mural in Grandi Photo/Tammy Tanbusch
#16 A mural in Vesturbær neighborhood Photo/Sonja Weirich
#17-20 Murals on the corner of Skólavörðustígur, Grettisgata and Vegamótastígur streets Photo/Nadine Steinbach
#21 Car park between Bergstaðastræti and Ingólfsstræti streets Photo/Markku J Sade
#22 Small mural on the corner of Bergstaðastræti and Bjargarstígur streets Photo/Pia Ilenius
#23 Small mural on Hverfisgata street Photo/Krissy Strachan
#24 Mural on Hverfisgata Photo/Krissy Strachan
#25 Mural in Vesturbær Photo/Graham Littlewood
#26 One of the figures in Vesturbær Photo/Dana Sternberg
#27 Another Vesturbær figure Photo/Dana Sternberg
#28 Third Vesturbær figure Photo/Dana Sternberg
#29 Back alley graffiti Photo/Brian Holland
#30 One of the sign for Babalú café on Skólavörðustígur Photo/Andreas Flugge
#31 More commercial street art, this on Laugavegur Photo/Vesna Ranisavlevic
#32 A small park next to Hallgrímskirkja church Photo/Markku J Sade
#33 Alley behind Laugavegur Photo/Graham Littlewood
#34 A poem Photo/Graham Littlewood
#35 Corner of Laugavegur and Klappastígur streets Photo/Emilia Boguslawa Slabon
#36 A detail of the same building Photo/Bw Elzinga
#37 A whale in Keflavík Photo/Nadine Steinbach
#38 Bergstaðastræti street Photo/Markku J Sade
#39 The same underpass on Bergstaðastræti Photo/Markku J Sade
#40 Another interesting back alley work Photo/Ian Herbert
#41 One of the many murals on Skúlagata street Photo/Markku J Sade
#42 Some of the street art is literally on the street itself! Photo/Margaret Thorson
