Nuuk Art and Culture

Today was a day of art and history: the National Museum and Archives, Nuuk Art Museum, and a stroll around town to locate the numerous outdoor art installations and street art. All that fun, plus a lunch of Greenlandic tapas that included a musk ox hot dog -- which was delicious -- and strolls through several fascinating and busy shopping centers and grocery stores.

Our strolls and encounters today confirmed my observation that the nondescript exteriors of buildings belie a marvelous array of interior designs.

Several general observations: there's a well-run bus system with buses running often. And there's an amazing amount of construction going on as if growth is happening. 

We had the pleasure of talking to two young people at the national museum who told us about the burgeoning Greenland popular music scene, particularly in rap bands such as Nuuk Posse. They said we could find them (plus others) on the internet.

First the tapas. The musk ox hot dog is the bottom center. I hope to have another one before I leave.


Then the the library. Sadly,  it was closed today. When traveling, I try to check in at a library because they often have exhibits and info on local culture, literature/writers, etc. And as a general rule, librarians are a well-spring of information, which they love to share. I'll share a pic of this one even if I could only peer in the front door, partly to show what I mean about the buildings. Nothing looks like I have come to expect things to look on the exteriors.

Then the art museum. Buildings simply look different here, nothing special on the outside while inside is a world of wonders.

Then the street art / outdoor installations. There were more, but I found these particularly compelling.
Artist: Jens Thordahl Christensen, 2006
The dots on the post office wall are inspired by traditional women's tattoos.


Artist: Jeppe Gitz-Johansen
Four stones (only showing 2) reminiscent of petroglyphs or cave drawings. 

Artist: Thue Christiansen
A pattern on City Hall that is representative of Greenlandic sealskin embroidery where bits of dyed sealskin are sewn into pieces of needlework.

Artists: Guido Van Helten and Stefan Baldursson, 2014

These paintings are on some apartment buildings near the center of Nuuk. The woman and Polar bear are Baldursson's creation. The other is a painting made from a photo of an East Greenland hunter taken in 1906.

Artist: Naja Rosing-Asvid, 2009
Title: Amisut

A group of seals swimming at sea level is called an Amisut in Greenlandic. Here the seals are entwined, winding and unwinding while swimming together. This sculpture was made the year Greenland got home rule and is representative of the country's new status of self-government.


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