Katuaq Cultural Centre

The Katuaq Cultural Centre is the most striking piece of architecture in Nuuk — a wave-shaped wooden building designed to evoke the aurora borealis. It serves as Greenland's main concert hall, cinema, exhibition space, and the venue for most significant public events in the capital. The building also houses a café that is one of the better places in the city for a warm drink and a view.

The programme ranges from Greenlandic throat singing and drum dancing to international jazz tours and film screenings. Check the Katuaq website or notice boards in the foyer for current events. Even without a specific event, the building is worth seeing from outside and the café is worth entering.

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A story
Katuaq opened in 1997, designed by Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen to evoke the aurora borealis. The undulating wooden facade was the most architecturally ambitious building in Greenland at the time of its construction. The choice of wood — unusual in a country where timber must be imported — was deliberate: the architects wanted a warm material that would stand against the landscape rather than disappear into it. In winter, when the building is lit from inside against the dark, it does look startlingly like the northern lights frozen in timber and glass.

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