A gallery that grows out of the rock

The name says most of it: art and archipelago, joined in one word. Artipelag stands on the headland of Hålludden on Värmdö, about 20 kilometres east of Stockholm, and from the moment you arrive it is hard to say where the landscape stops and the building begins. Moss and sedum cover the roof, timber wraps the walls, and in places the bare bedrock runs straight through the rooms.

I visited on the last day of October, the final day of Alphonse Mucha and the first month of a new show about play. It is the kind of place that rewards a slow day. Come for the art, then stay for the boardwalk along the water, a long lunch above the bay and the sculptures among the pines.

The story behind Artipelag

The idea belongs to Björn Jakobson, the founder of BabyBjörn, who began imagining a home for art and culture in the archipelago in 2000. It opened twelve years later, created together with his wife Lillemor, the designer who shaped the BabyBjörn brand and who worked closely with the architect on the colours, materials and light.

That architect was Johan Nyrén, and his building is the reason many visitors come. Rather than clearing the site, he adapted the architecture to the surrounding nature, letting the building twist around the cliff and follow the terrain, and the rock uncovered during construction became part of the interior. Nature here is not a backdrop but part of the museum itself: the entrance hall is built around the four elements, with an open fire, the bedrock beneath it, and the air and water outside. Inside, tall walls of board-marked concrete rise to a ceiling of skylights, and at the end of the foyer a wall of glass brings the pines and Baggensfjärden into the room.

INNER CHILD: playing with design

Until 11 April 2027, Artipelag shows INNER CHILD: Playing with Design, a major international exhibition curated by the trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano. Around one hundred designers and artists explore play as a source of creativity, across eight chapters on joy, hope, naive simplicity and pure imagination.

Among them are Maarten Baas, Front, Yinka Ilori, Max Lamb, Gustaf Westman and Pierre Yovanovitch. The scenography comes from the Dutch designers Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk, working with their two children. It is a serious exhibition about not being serious, and a welcome one in the dark months of a Swedish winter.

Outside Artipelag · Photo: Ylva Hedman

Walking around Artipelag

Much of what makes Artipelag special lies outside, so do not miss the walk around the museum and down to the sea. Close to a kilometre of larch boardwalk follows the shore, wide and level enough for wheelchairs and pushchairs, while forest and coastal paths lead further into the grounds. Along the way, artworks stand out in nature among the rocks and pines, part of Artipelag’s Sculpture in Nature, with a guided map available at reception. Look out for the golden Solar Egg by Bigert & Bergström. And do not forget to go up onto the museum’s roof for a spectacular view. Even on a grey day, the combination of water, rock and silence is reason enough to come.

Before you leave, stop by the Design Shop on the main floor. It is a lovely shop, and well worth a visit in its own right, with Artipelag’s own November furniture and vases by Siri Seger alongside other designers.

The way into the Design Shop · Photo: Ylva Hedman

Where to eat at Artipelag

The food here has a reputation of its own. In 2026 Artipelag was voted best restaurant and café in the survey of Stockholm’s favourite museums, White Guide named it Konditori of the Year in 2019, and head pastry chef Annie Hesselstad created the dessert for the 2022 Nobel Banquet: a baked cheesecake with plum compote and mirabelle sorbet.

Artipelag Restaurant sits on the top floor, with panoramic windows over the archipelago and a dining room floored in maritime wood. Dishes are made from scratch, with seasonal and local produce, and pastries come from the house bakers. Weekends bring a brunch buffet, and in the run-up to Christmas the restaurant serves a traditional Christmas buffet. For something lighter, Bådan Café & Pâtisserie opens straight off the foyer, the natural pause between the gallery and the boardwalk. The café is built around a slab of bedrock some two billion years old, smoothed by the ice sheet and kept as a permanent work of art.

Artipelag, answered