Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2019, Side 24

It looked like a small town summer
art festival. Dozens of interestingly
dressed, mostly young people loiter-
ing in the middle of the street, passing
bottles of rosé back and forth, laughing
and chain smoking. From an open door
nearby, the loud sound of high-energy
indie-electronica filled the air, making
even the passing children dance in the
street. Cars carefully cruise past the
revelers, avoiding honking as to not
disturb the party at hand. But this was
no festival—it was the grand opening
of Flæði, a brand new arts venue run by
three intrepid young women.
Terrible for capitalism,
perfect for art
Flæði, which translates to ‘Flow,’ is
run by photographer Brynja Kristins,
ceramicist Antonía Berg, and multi-
media artist Sunna Axels, who became
fast friends in the last few months after
meeting through mutual acquaintanc-
es. The three had their first joint foray
into curation at the beginning of July,
throwing together a group exhibition
in twenty-four hours
at a v aca nt shop
space at Laugavegur
74. By the third and
final day of this ex-
hibition, Brynja had
secured their new
space–for free.
It’s a modest sized
storefront space on
Grettisgata, in a loca-
tion well-known for
doomed commerce,
with several busi-
nesses opening in the
space and promptly
shuttering over the past few years.
The space was donated thanks to an
anonymous benefactor. “Through a big
group exhibition I put on, a guy came
and he loved it and he got me in contact
with the guy who owns this place,” says
Brynja, “He was just like, ‘Dude, give
this girl your space. She needs it and
you don’t need it.’”
Serendipitously,
the owner’s sister
happened to be an
art historian, which
gave an extra incen-
tive for them to hand
over the keys. They
got the space at the
beginning of July but
then Antonía and
Sunna trekked off to
the LungA art festi-
val in the East. Upon
their return later in
the month they im-
mediately got to work cleaning, paint-
ing and setting up the space. On August
1st, after barely a week of preparation,
Flæði officially opened its doors.
Subverting the elite
The main goal of Flæði is to be an open
social space with a diverse range of
events and an emphasis on more mar-
ginalized artists. “We want to have a
nice strong female energy,” says Sunna.
“That’s why it’s called Flæði, because
it’s an art venue where there can be ex-
hibitions, performances, concerts or
pop-up shops or workshops. We’re go-
ing to have a balance so it’s not only art
exhibitions or only concerts.”
Their aim is to create a space that
counters the bourgeois elite gallery
culture that tends to favour well-
known Icelandic artists, primarily
men. “This space is just supposed to be
a platform for the smaller groups in so-
ciety, because usually galleries here are
a bit sterile,” says Antonía. “Not all, of
course, but the main galleries in town,
it’s a lot of older established artists.
This is basically a space for anyone who
wants to showcase anything, really.”
Culture
Flowing Freely
Flæði art venue seeks artists on the fringe

Art Venue
Flæði is located at
Grettisgata 3. Find
their open call and
upcoming events
at facebook.com/
flaediartvenue
“This space is
supposed to be a
platform for the
smaller groups in
society, because
usually the main
galleries are a bit
sterile. ”
24The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14— 2019
Name a more iconic trio
Words:
Rex Beckett
Photos:
Art Bicnick
Joy, Sustainability
& Honesty
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