Exhibition | Sketches become a book: Birna Daníelsdóttir

In this exhibition, you can get a glimpse into the magical world of children's books. The illustrators allow us to follow the creative process and sketching that ultimately become fully-fledged illustrations in children's books.

Birna Daníelsdóttir, the illustrator and author of the book I Live in Giantland, which was published in 2025 and received the Sólfaxi – Icelandic Children's Book Award and a nomination for the Icelandic Literary Prize in the children's and young adult category,

At the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to explore her creative process, the journey from idea to the final images, as well as the tools and materials she used. Birna used mixed media to create the images, as well as the tools and materials she used. To create the pictures, Birna used a mixed technique, employing gouache paint, coloured pencils, wax crayons, and not least the collage technique, which played a large part in the sketching process. Birna will share the creative process that takes place before the printed copy ends up in the hands of the children.

Birna Daníelsdóttir was born in Sweden in 1981 and lives in Reykjavík with her family. She graduated with a B.Sc. degree in Biology from the University of Iceland in 2008 and an M.Sc. in Marine Biology from Lund University in Sweden. For many years, she then worked in quality control in the microbiology department of a pharmaceutical company before changing tack completely and completing a diploma in drawing from the Reykjavík School of Visual Arts in 2022. There, she fulfilled a long-held dream of working in a creative field and now works as a freelance illustrator.

A workshop will be offered in connection with the exhibition.

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For further information contact:

Guðrún Elísa Ragnarsdóttir, project manager

gudrun.elisa.ragnarsdottir@reykjavik.is | 411 6145