Iceland review - 2013, Qupperneq 50

48 ICELAND REVIEW
Seyðisfjörður three years ago. “We’re doing it
to show that it can be done, and that we can
turn a profit by using existing facilities, none
of which are being used to the maximum,”
continues Þórunn. After all, every village
needs a bakery, she says.
CreaTive HuB
Originally from the countryside near
Egilsstaðir, Þórunn moved to Seyðisfjörður
ten years ago. She describes herself as the
hands-on person in the group, dedicat-
ing most of her time to RoShamBo, while
Nyström and Hanna are also busy with other
projects. Hanna is among a small group of
people in the community hired to translate
EU regulations for the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs. “In a place like this, it’s not like
people just work at the supermarket, the guy
working at the bar and the supermarket is
also a filmmaker. We all have several hats on.
It’s complicated but it’s also good in a way
and I think we can use this to our advantage,”
Þórunn says, referring to the need to create
work year-round.
Danish/Polish multimedia artist Konrad
Korabiewski also stayed on after his residency
and is looking into buying a house. “I fell in
love with Seyðisfjörður after half an hour...
the positive energy of the town; it’s a good
place to work,” he says.
“There’s a bit of a renaissance in Seyðis-
fjörð ur now. I feel that, in summer, Seyðis-
fjörður is more active than in places like
Berlin—it’s very intense and there is a
lot happening,” he continues. “What makes
Seyðisfjörður so special is that there are so
many people here now with such positive
energy, people who are willing to invest in
being here.” Korabiewski plans to harvest
that energy through a residency program
at the newly-established Skálar Center for
Sound Art and Experimental Music, housed
in a defunct fish factory.
Year-round, we’re told, there are between
eight and nine foreign artists based in
Seyðisfjörður in addition to the many locals
working on art projects, but during the sum-
mer, that number triples. From 2014 LungA
art festival, a five-day event for young artists
held in East Iceland every June, the Icelandic
Academy of the Arts and the Kaospilots
alternative business school in Denmark will
open the LungA art school in town. One of
the festival’s founders, Björt Sigfinnsdóttir,
was born and grew up in Seyðisfjörður. She
returned to work on the project and is also
developing Heima, a workspace and residen-
cy program to accommodate up to 15 people
from autumn 2013.
In Skálar we meet Björt’s Danish partner
Lasse Høgenhof, one of three others involved
in the Heima project—all of whom are for-
mer classmates from Kaospilots. He takes us
for a walk through his exhibition—his works,
like RoShamBo’s, are made from recycled
objects found locally—due to open several
days later.
Høgenhof is also quick to mention Seyðis-
fjörður’s growing reputation. “Seyðisfjörður
has for a long time been a place for artists but
something is happening now, there is a lot of
momentum and the town is fast becoming a
hub for creativity,” Høgenhof says. “Someone
does something and it inspires others to do
something too,” he explains.
He hopes Heima will become a center
for locals and foreign artists to meet and
network. “We want it to be a place for
the whole community, where everyone can
come and be part of it,” Høgenhof explains.
“People can come and make something in
the workshop and we’re trying to get local
builders to help us with the renovation,”
Høgenhof says.
The other artists we meet are also keen to
emphasize working with and contributing to
the community, as well as taking part in local
events such as Dagar Myrkurs. The reception
towards the foreign artists in town seems to
be overwhelmingly positive, although the
different languages spoken sometimes cause
confusion. At Skaftfell, we check out the
Narrative Collection, a documentation of life
in Seyðisfjörður through recordings of com-
munity members narrating anecdotes from
their lives. So far 180 people have taken part.
The next day, we meet Laura Ben Hayoun
CULTURE
Hotel aldan is transformed into a mini disco hall for the festival’s grand finale, the ‘northern lights’ party.