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# Ragnar Kjartansson Takes Over the NGV, With a Free Show Just for Kids
- URL: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/ragnar-kjartansson-takes-over-the-ngv-with-a-free-show-just-for-kids/
- Published: 2026-09-25T05:22:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-25T05:22:44.000Z
- Description: The Icelandic artist's first major Australian show pairs eight emotional video works with a free, cake-filled children's exhibition. Both close on 4 October.
- Author: Mason
- Tags: Culture, News

Few contemporary artists can make a gallery full of strangers feel something quite like Ragnar Kjartansson. The Icelandic artist, whose looping, musical video works have drawn crowds from New York to Reykjavik, has his first major Australian exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, and he has made something for the kids as well.

## Mercy: eight works, many emotions

Kjartansson grew up in a family of artists, writers and theatre people, and it shows. Ragnar Kjartansson: Mercy brings together eight distinct video and film projects that borrow from choreographed music videos, live musical performance, 1970s American video art, opera and ballet.

His great tools are duration and repetition. A song or gesture is performed again and again, sometimes for hours, until something unexpectedly honest breaks through. It is art about rehearsal, collaboration and the pleasure of doing something together, and the best way to experience it is to give yourself time to sit with each work rather than rushing through.

## Children's Play: dinner and a show

Downstairs in the NGV's Children's Gallery, Children's Play: Ragnar Kjartansson is the artist's first ever exhibition made for children. It is inspired by the theatrical feast, a tradition that began in the Middle Ages and grew through the Rococo courts of Europe into today's idea of dinner and a show.

Kids are invited to become actors, storytellers and creators: drawing what they see, sketching real or imagined foods, and building towering dessert sculptures out of colourful cushions, then knocking them over. Relaxed sessions are available for visitors who prefer a quieter experience.

## Plan your visit

- **Where:** NGV International, Ground Level, St Kilda Road, Melbourne
- **Mercy:** until 4 October 2026, ticketed, with NGV Friday Nights access 6pm to 10pm
- **Children's Play:** until 4 October 2026, free entry, daily 10am to 5pm

Both shows close the same weekend as the NGV's Cartier exhibition, so it is easy to combine all three in one visit.

*Sources:* [*NGV*](https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/ragnar-kjartansson-mercy/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)*,* [*NGV*](https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/childrens-play/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)*. Image courtesy of NGV.*