Lara Caks and Stefanie Pusterhofer, 4HLKa (Iceland, Summer 2025)

One of our best decisions was to spend our internship in Iceland, as we desperately wanted to go abroad. Moreover, we have always been very interested in northern countries. The best way to experience the North firsthand was through Erasmus+.
On the 30th of June, we began our wonderful internship experience in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavík. We had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the world of museums and museum work within the Reykjavík Art Museum, which is split into three different locations: Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir, and Ásmundarsafn. In Hafnarhús, mostly contemporary artworks can be found in temporary exhibitions. The modern art museum Kjarvalsstaðir was named after the famous Icelandic artist Kjarval. It showcases primarily landscapes and other kinds of paintings by him and his colleagues. The former home of Ásmundur Sveinsson, one of Iceland’s most renowned sculptors, was turned into our third location, the sculpture museum Ásmundarsafn.
While working at the museum, we were responsible for the cash register alongside our Icelandic colleagues. One of our main tasks was also serving as gallery security, which meant keeping an eye on the artworks and, of course, our visitors. The museum also trusted us with small side tasks, such as packing posters and taking care of the public coffee machine. We sold tickets and informed our visitors about the highlights of “our” museum and the city.