Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2018, Blaðsíða 30

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A white-robed procession walks slowly
along the shoreline of Seyðisfjörður’s
harbour lagoon. The throng are sing-
ing softly, and have dots painted on
their foreheads, in the “third eye”
spot; people in regular clothes trail
after them, smiling.
T hey ’re emerg i ng
from HEIMA, a con-
verted house that’s
now an art residency
and gallery, where
ambient music spills
from the open doors;
giant flickering pro-
jections of the robed
f ig ures’ faces a re
visible within. The
people congregate
around a small jetty
on the shore, board-
ing a small wooden
vessel and punting
out towards the tiny islet in the bay on
an unclear mission.
It’s a cinematic moment that could
be an obscure religious ritual, or a cult
gathering. But in Seyðisfjörður, such
curious events are common. This small
fishing town of 700 people has become
a hub of experimental art in East Ice-
land, due in no small part to the LungA
Festival, where this participatory ritu-
al performance took place. A weeklong
arts event, it features workshops, open-
ings, performances,
readings, concerts,
and all kinds of spon-
taneous happenings,
and has developed
a reputation as one
of the most exciting
events on Iceland’s
cultural landscape.
Art explosion
It all began in the
year 2000. “LungA
is kind of my fault,”
says Björt Sigfinns-
dóttir, the director of
the festival. “Back when I was 15 years
old, I had a moment of thinking Seyð-
isfjörður was the most boring place on
earth. I had a boyfriend in Egilsstaðir,
Ólafur Ágústsson, who was involved
with the theatre and had a cool group
of creative friends who did role play,
made music and seemed really nice.
One day I was arguing with my mom, as
teenagers do, and I threatened to move
to Egilsstaðir. Her response was “no,
let’s do something about the situation
and create something new.” So me, my
mum, Ólafur, and a couple of his super
cool friends, Halldóra Malin and Stefán
Benedikt, sat down and started design-
ing what later became LungA.”
It started as a weekend event. “I re-
member us sitting at Skaftfell bistro,
literarily calling people and begging
them to participate,” says Björt. “But
then a few years in, it exploded and,
in the blink of an eye, the festival had
grown into being a full week interna-
tional art festival with a great repu-
tation and artists all over the world
wanting to participate in one way or
another.”
Intimate structures
At LungA, the hedonism of music fes-
tivals and the passive “audience role”
of most arts festivals is replaced with
an atmosphere of crackling creative
energy that’s pregnant with possibility.
It’s something that was built into
the foundations. “When the idea of
LungA was born, it was all about giving
young people the opportunity of meet-
ing in creative expression,” says Björt.
“We’ve held on to that vision and kept
on developing in that direction. It’s ex-
tremely important to us that LungA is
about co-creating an experience. We
design and manage the frames, but all
the content is made in a fusion between
established artists, up and coming
ones, and total newbies. We believe in
the intimacy this structure creates.”
Smells like team spirit
Over the years, Seyðisfjörður has be-
come well-known with Icelanders as a
creative town with a sparky local com-
munity, in direct contrast with the dire
straits many other small rural towns
find themselves in.
“I think it’s a combination of many
factors,” says Björt. “But basically it’s
team spirit if you ask me. Seyðisfjörður
has always had entrepreneurial, free-
spirited people who’ve been good at
Words:
John Rogers
Photo:
Timothée
Lambrecq
Björt Sigfinnsdóttir
Culture
Fill
Your
Lungs

Seyðisfjörður’s LungA Festival
is a breath of fresh air

Info
LungA takes place
July 15th-22nd
in Seyðisfjörður,
East Iceland. Get
further info and
tickets at lunga.is
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“It’s extremely
important to us
that LungA is
about co-creating
an experience.
We believe in
the intimacy
this structure
creates.”