

The Ulo Sculpture at Ilimmarfik
Isle Hessner's weathering-steel sculpture stands by Ilimmarfik, the campus of the University of Greenland (Ilisimatusarfik) in Nuuk, unveiled in 2015. It is called "Hyldest til fangerkonerne" in Danish, which roughly translates to "Tribute to the Hunters' Wives." It honours the wives of Greenland's hunters through the form of the ulu ("ulo" in Greenlandic), the traditional women's knife. Because the ulu takes a different shape on Greenland's east and west coasts, Hessner united both forms in a single work, a symbol of community between the two coasts.

Nuuk street art: "Stay True" by Cheeky
A mural by street artist Cheeky wraps around a concrete wall in Nuuk, a blue-toned face and a mask held by a hand beside the words "Stay True," rendered in her bold, comic-influenced line work. The paired face and mask explore the idea of wearing a mask, and taking it off. Cheeky has described how many Greenlanders, especially young people, feel they must mask themselves and endure prejudice when they move to Denmark. With this artwork she wanted to bring those experiences to a wider audience. Someone has since added "cool" above the original text, so it could now be read as "Stay True, Stay Cool."


Dwarf Fireweed (Niviarsiaq) Flowers at the Foot of Quassussuaq
Dwarf fireweed, or Niviarsiaq in Greenlandic, is the national flower of Greenland. Here, it is captured on a hot summer Sunday as it blooms across the stony tundra at the foot of Quassussuaq (Danish: Lille Malene), east of Nuuk. Its Greenlandic name means "little girl," and it flowers through the brief Arctic summer, from June to September.

A Cloudy July Day on the Waters of Nuup Kangerlua
A boat's foaming wake trails across the still, grey waters of Nuup Kangerlua, some 20 km inland from Nuuk, where steep, snow-streaked mountains rise straight from the fjord under a heavy, overcast summer sky.

Split Face with Antlers - Street Art in Nuussuaq
A mural of a young woman's face split with a bare skull, framed by branching antlers, painted on a wooden wall of a shed in Nuuk's Nuussuaq district.

A Tupilak Pointing the Way to Ajagaq
A steel tupilak, catching the low evening sun, marks the route to Ajagaq, the municipality's arts workshop, where local artists have carved and shared Greenlandic craft traditions since 2015.

"Loading” – Nuuk Street Art by Inuk Højgaard
This graffiti painting depicts a steel-and-glass skyline crowding out a small village of colorful traditional houses, both suspended on a loading bar still in progress. Painted in 2020 by Greenlandic artist Inuk Højgaard, the mural speaks to the widening gap between life in Nuuk and in Greenland's smaller communities. Højgaard himself resists calling it a simple critique of the capital's growth.

Overlooking the Roads of Eqalugalinnguanut and Issortarfimmut
Traffic moves along the sunlit roads of Eqalugalinnguanut and Issortarfimmut, with the mountain Sermitsiaq to the left and Quassussuaq (Lille Malene) in the middle.

RV Tarajoq in Nuuk
RV Tarajoq is Greenland's flagship fisheries research vessel, operated by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (Pinngortitaleriffik) on behalf of the Government of Greenland. This ice-strengthened vessel is used to survey fish stocks and map the seabed across Arctic waters. The name means "salt" and is an old Inuit word for the sea itself.


A Band of Cloud Across the Fjord
A thin ribbon of cloud cuts across the mountains of Nuup Kangerlua, splitting jagged, snow-dusted peaks from the dark water of Nuuk's fjord below.

HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen (P571) in Nuuk
HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen (P571) sits in Nuuk's harbour, a Knud Rasmussen-class Arctic offshore patrol vessel of the Royal Danish Navy, named after the Danish polar explorer. Her ice-strengthened hull can break through ice up to 80cm thick, and alongside her sister ships, she's normally stationed in Greenlandic waters for sovereignty enforcement, fisheries inspection, and search-and-rescue work.

Evening Sun Over the Colonial Harbour
The evening sun bathes Nuuk's Colonial Harbour and old town in golden light on a calm Sunday evening.

Saqqarliit Beach in Rævedalen
A quiet, pebble-and-sand cove at Saqqarliit beach in Nuuk's Rævedalen (Fox Valley) district, with the area's colorful houses scattered along the hillside above.

The 2026 Greenland National Kayak Championship
The start line of a race at Qaannamik Unammersuarneq, Greenland's national kayak championship, on Friday, July 3, in the Nuuk Colonial Harbour.

Waterfall into Nuup Kangerlua
A waterfall cascades down mist-shrouded granite cliffs into Nuup Kangerlua, Nuuk's fjord, fed by summer runoff from the peaks above.

Ajagaq Workshop
Ajagaq is an arts handicraft workshop operated by the municipality since 2015. Here local artists carve, sculpt, and share Greenlandic craft traditions. The green front of the house displays two bold tupilak murals.
