Visit
Visit
At The Nordic Watercolour Museum, you can see exhibitions from all over the world, take part in exciting events, experiment with colour and eat delicious food. Welcome to experience a meeting place between nature, art and people.
In the small coastal town of Skärhamn on the island of Tjörn you will find The Nordic Watercolour Museum. People from all continents travel here to experience contemporary art and watercolour history. The site is simmering with cultural events all year round and the museum is open during all seasons (except for the weeks we are closed during change of exhibitions). Due to the museum's unique location right on the shore, the art experience can be combined with a swim in the sea for those who wants. Welcome to The Nordic Watercolour Museum!
For the exhibitions, we always offer the opportunity for in-depth study. Depending on the season you can, for example, join a guided tour, read a free information folder about the art or listen to an audio guide on your phone. We often produce films about our exhibitions and you can view our material on both Facebook and YouTube.
The Nordic Watercolour Museum is a place for all people, of all ages. Bring the whole family and discover everything the museum has to offer. Several of our events are aimed at families and visitors of younger age, and vary based on period. Maybe you are interested in painting, guided tours or a show? In addition, there are always spaces at the museum where you can sit down to draw, read or discuss what you have seen. And why not charge your batteries with a cookie in the cafe?
Museum shop
In the museum shop you will find a carefully selected assortment of watercolour materials, literature, arts and crafts and Nordic design. The inventory varies and is adapted to current exhibition and season. In the shop, there is always an exciting assortment to botanize in, for both adults and children.
Workshop
In our open studio, you can give watercolour a try, whether you are child or adult. Here, you'll find watercolour materials and staff to help you when needed. During school holidays, thematic workshops are arranged, with extended opening hours and free admission. View our events for more information.
Events at the museum
Upper floor
Upstairs, the atmosphere is usually a bit calmer. Here you will find Konstpausen, with comfortable seating where you can relax with a book. Or why not draw a beautiful work of art? Here, you will also find Thordénrummet. In this room, different things are on display depending on when you visit us, but most often the room is used as an exhibition space or an area of activity. Our workshop room Experimentverkstaden is also located upstairs. This room is used for courses and as a workshop for pre-booked groups.
Restaurant & Café
At the museum you will also find Vatten Restaurang & Kafé. You can come here to satiate your stomach or quench your thirst all year round. Here, you'll get a memorable moment in the middle of a fantastic scenery, where the ambition is to deliver a meal made of the best ingredients that can be found according to the season.
Vatten Restaurang & Kafé
discover the area
When the museum is closed, you can discover the art that is found on the outside of the museum. The Lighthouse is a cylindrical structure about six metres tall, created by the artist duo Wolfgang Winter and Berthold Hörbelt. The scuplture is sited on a low rocky outcrop next to The Nordic Watercolour Museum. At night, the sculpture is illuminated and a bench can be found inside. Gunilla Hansson's installation Singing Inhabitants also runs along the bridge that surrounds the museum. The inscribed text tells of an atoll in the Pacific Ocean at risk of being overflooded due to the rise of sea levels.
The museum is located next to Gråskärsbadet, one of Tjörn's largest bathing sites. There is a beach, jumping tower, beach volleyball court and public toilets. Above the bathing place stands Hulda, a sculpture by the artist Linn Granlund which is owned by Tjörn municipality.
Tjörn is also the home of Sculpture in Pilane; a sculpture park and an eight-hectare cultural landscape. The exhibition area is not a traditional park, but a living grazing landscape where you move freely though the terrain or on trampled paths over meadows and mountains. From the mountain area you have an outstanding view of the North Sea and the Bohuslän archipelago. Between The Nordic Watercolour Museum and Pilane, a 12 km long hiking or cycling trail runs through one of Sweden's most beautiful landscapes. Read more.
Tjörn is an island full of culture and discoveries to make. Sundsby säteri is a mythical manor dating from the 14th century, which today houses a café, shops, farms and hiking trails. A 5 km long hiking trail can also be found around the picturesque island Dyrön, which you will reach by taking the ferry. You can also choose to get off the ferry on the car-free island of Åstol, where, in addition to boathouses and lush alleys, you will find a rocky beach with a waterslide. At the far end of the horizon, in a barren and windswept place, towers the world-famous 32 m high lighthouse Pater Noster, built in 1868 – once a high-tech masterpiece and today an award-winning design hotel. Tjörn is also home to several farm shops, handicraft shops and flea markets. The range of events on the island is rich and all year round you can choose from fun, experimental and powerful events. Enrich your stay and discover Tjörn.