Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.08.2016, Síða 51

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Art Festival50The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2016
Breiðholt, just a ten-minute drive
from downtown Reykjavík, is per-
haps not an area often associated
with culture. But as is often the
case in Iceland, there’s more going
on than meets the eye. One of the
biggest suburbs of Reykjavík, with
a population of
o v e r 2 0 , 0 0 0 ,
Breiðholt also
boasts the city’s
largest immi-
grant popula-
tion, and a his-
tory of artistic
residents. The
neighbourhood
is home to the
N Ý LÓ gal lery,
the Gerðuberg
cultural centre, and Valgeir Sig-
urðsson’s Greenhouse recording
studio, home of the Bedroom Com-
munity label.
It’s from this musical family
that the Breiðholt Festival sprang,
headed up by Valgeir and his wife
Sigríður Sunna Reynisdóttir. The
2015 debut edition was a conviv-
ial event, with a market, art, food
stands, and, of course, music per-
formances taking place in the
studio and the surrounding area,
including a pool, a sculpture stu-
dio and a grassy park.
“We had the idea one year prior
to the first festival,” says Sigríður.
“We had a moment where we were
shuffling gear into a van and driv-
ing it downtown for a show, as al-
ways. And we thought: ‘Wouldn’t it
be nice if, just for once, everyone
came here?’ We do have a house
full of equipment, after all...”
The 109 set
The festival focuses on artists with
a connection to Breiðholt, whether
personal, or through working with
Greenhouse. “We include a lot of
people who grew up here, then
went on to live downtown, like the
illustrator Lóa,” says Sigríður. “On
Facebook, we have the artists talk-
ing about their connections and
favourite places here. For example,
Jófríður’s connection, apart from
recording here, was that she used
to see a dentist
here. Funny lit-
tle stories come
out of this.”
Last year,
fest iv a l-go ers
got the very spe-
cial opportunity
of seeing Nico
Muhly perform
piano works to
a tiny audience,
who sat on rugs
in one of the studio rooms. “This
year, Daniel Bjarnason will play,”
says Sigríður. “It’s a rare oppor-
tunity to see him play a prepared
piano and some electronics. And
Pascal Pinon will play on an old
piano—one of only four of its kind,
and made by an Icelander.”
This year, as well as the pool
and sculpture garden, the festival
will also use some other buildings
in the area for living room shows.
“There are more houses like ours
that were built around artists, to
use as workshops, but also as fam-
ily homes,” says Valgeir. “Some are
now apartments, but we wanted
to get access to those spaces that
remain, and show people what’s
going on.” Sigríður continues:
“These houses were built as a
way of getting more culture into
the suburbs, and not just 101. We
wanted to re-invoke that.”
Sigriður thinks things are look-
ing bright for Breiðholt. “A lot of
people are getting tired of down-
town, and relocating,” she says.
“There’s been a lot of power to the
109 atmosphere lately. So it was
really easy to get this festival on its
feet. The local council was great.
And people just wanted to help.”
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For The Love
Of Breiðholt
The second Breiðholt Festival
shines a light on 109 Reykjavík
Words JOHN ROGERS Photos ART BICNICK
These houses
were built as a way
of getting more
culture into the
suburbs and not
just 101. We wanted
to re-invoke that.