Reykjavík Grapevine - sept 2019, Qupperneq 36

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Buenos Días,
Buenos Aires
Pavilion Nordico bridges the gap between
Argentina and the north
Words: Berglind Jóna Hlynsdóttir
Photos: Philipp Poppek @graysc, Javier Agustin Rojas, dagurke
Exhibition
Pavilion Nordic is based in
Buenos Aires, Argentina. You can
follow them on their website
and Instagram. Catch their talk
Thursday 15.07.19 at 17:00 in
Hafnarhús, Reykjavík Art Museum.
Pavilion Nordico is an art and
design platform based in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, that runs an ex-
hibition program and residency
with a Nordic focus and a specific
connection to Iceland. Located in
a beautiful historical villa in the
center of the city, with high ceil-
ings, tinted glass and elaborate
wooden details, it is the kind of
getaway most northern creators
dream of in the dead of winter.
The birth of a
connoisseur
The platform was created by Ice-
landic-Danish artist Sara Løve
Daðadóttir and Finnish cultural-
ist Jali Wahlsten, along with Jose-
fin Askfelt, Emil Willumsen and
Nele Ruckelshausen. Sara, who was
born in Iceland, says she became
accustomed to being surrounded
by artists and art at an early age in
her childhood house in Hveragerði.
“In a house that my great-grand-
parents and great-great-grandpar-
ents had built, they ran something
similar to a residency. Every sum-
mer, they would host artists from
Iceland, Germany and Scandina-
via. Mid-century artist like Kjarval
stayed there,” she explains. “This
had been going on since the 40s
and often the artist would leave
artwork. One even built a bridge
over the river.”
A new residency
While Sara’s love of art was born
during these formative years, it
coalesced when she visited Jali in
Buenos Aires and discovered the
beautiful building that would even-
tually become Pavilion Nordico.
Since its inception, Pavilion
Nordico’s primary focus has been
on collaboration and individual
attention. “We really care about
collaboration with the community,
but also putting focus on the resi-
dent. We try to connect them with
the local scene,” she
explains. “Our first
open call was really
an open call, as we
feel like a lot of good
projects get lost be-
cause of criteria ob-
session.”
Sara emphasises
that her interests
span far beyond
traditional art and
design. “I am inter-
ested in the field be-
tween education, art, and social
political change,” she says. “Some-
where on that cross border is where
I find it interesting to create from.”
Iceland… colonised?
Earlier this year, Pavilion Nordico
hosted an exhibition and perfor-
mance program entitled ‘Reac-
ción A Islandia,’ which included
10 Icelandic artists and was cu-
rated by Guðný Guðmundsdóttir,
who co-founded the Cycle Music
and Art festival in 2015. An inno-
vation and experimental addition
to the Icelandic art scene, Cycle
has been hosted yearly by the
Kópavogur Art Museum, Gerðar-
safn. The festival immediately
grabbed Pavilion Nordico’s eye.
Pavilion Nordico was interested
in Cycle’s focus on Nordic coloni-
alism. “Cycle has been working a
lot with colonialism in the Nordic
region and artists from the Far-
oe Islands and Greenland who are
often overlooked in Nordic cultur-
al collaborations. It’s important
for us to include all the facets and
ethnicities in the Nordic region,”
emphasises Sara. “When we did
tours around the show, most peo-
ple said, ‘Wait, you have colonies
in the Nordic region? White people
can be colonised? Iceland has been
colonised?’”
The bridge
While that exhibition has ended,
Pavilion Nordico will soon launch
their next open call. This one will
have a design focus built on the
experience of former resident Bet-
tina Nelson’s collaboration with
local crafts people,
designers and ar-
chitects. There will
also be a more gen-
eral open call later
this year.
For those looking
for up-and-coming
artists, or just a
beautiful melange
between two widely
different cultures,
there’s nowhere
better than Pavil-
ion Nordico. Hopefully, this will
be an institution that thrives and
builds a lasting network between
Buenos Aires and the Nordic art
and design scene. It will be exciting
to watch as more planks are added
to the bridge Pavilion Nordico is
building.
Art
“Wait, you have
colonies in the
Nordic region?
White people
can be colo-
nised? Iceland
has been colo-
nised?”
What's new Buenos Aires?
MARGRÉT H. BLÖNDAL
ÁSGERÐUR BÚADÓTTIR
EYBORG GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR
KRISTÍN JÓNSDÓTTIR frá MUNKAÞVERÁ
ARNA ÓTTARSDÓTTIR
RAGNA RÓBERTSDÓTTIR
KARIN SANDER
JÚLÍANA SVEINSDÓTTIR
Late Summer Show
22 August - 12 October 2019
i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
VISIT KÓPAVOGUR
CULTURE HOUSES
AND EXPERIENCE

OUTLINE
06.04.–08.09.19
&
MENNINGARHUSIN.
K O P A V O G U R . I S
Hamraborg 4–6'Kópavogur Bus 1,(2,(4,(28,(35 & 36
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