The area’s unique light has attracted many artists over the years, especially to the artists’ colony in Skagen at the far north-eastern tip of the country. One of the town’s main attractions is the Skagens Museum which houses more than 1,800 works of art by Skagen’s artists in the very surroundings in which they were painted. The colony of artists became established during the decades before and after 1900 and this year the museum pay homage to Anna Anchers, one of the leading female painters of this time as it commemorates the 150th anniversarty of her birth. Through the exhibition – ’I am Anna. A homage to Anna Anchers’ the museum attemps to provide a broader understanding of this bold and revolutionary artist who was born and brought up in Skagen. The museum also includes a children’s workshop where creative kids can follow in the footsteps of Skagen’s painters and create mini-masterpieces of their own.

Called the Mariagerfjord Kunstrute, the guide comes with a large map and all necessary contact details to allow visitors to plan their very own ‘art route’. Anyone visiting the region over the weekend of 26th & 27th September will be able to participate in a special ‘open day’, when all the artists in the guide will be throwing open their doors and inviting visitors into their workshops and studios. 

A similar ‘open day’ will be taking place in East Jutland on the 6th & 7th October, with galleries, art museums and individual artists all working together to enthuse visitors about their creations and the beautiful scenery of the region in which they were made. Details of the artists involved in Kunstruten (and how to find them).
 
There’s also plenty to discover down in South West Jutland, where one of Denmark’s most beautiful art routes can be found between the towns of Sædding and Hjerting (close to the ferry port of Esbjerg). This route links eight local artists who invite visitors into their galleries on three occasions each year (the next two being 15-16 August and 7-8 November). 

But art is not confined to the Jutland region. Elsewhere in Denmark, the island of Funen is also closely associated with the art world and even spawned the ‘Funen Movement’ in the late 1800s, when artists inspired by the work of famous painter Johannes Larsen flocked to the area to develop their own artists’ colony. Today, the painters of Funen can be followed along the art route that runs between Faaborg and Kerteminde, with the added appeal of visiting larger-scale attractions such as Denmark’s Ceramics Museum at Grimmerhus and the contemporary art and photography collection housed at Brandts, an arts complex of exhibition spaces in the centre of Odense, along the way. 

Odsherred, another artists’ colony on the island of Sealand, is also home to a great many modern-day artists – as is the island of Bornholm, which operates a special Craft Bus during the summer months to help visitors more easily visit the many ceramicists, silversmiths, sculptors, glass-blowers and other craftspeople at work.