Iceland review - 2014, Síða 65

ICELAND REVIEW 63
2017, giving people a reason to stay—or
move to—Stöðvarfjörður. “We looked at
the needs of the place. it had slowly been
turning into a summerhouse community,
like [nearby] Breiðdalsvík. Young people
need to return to the area but the excuse
has always been that there is no work here
so the idea with the project is to create
jobs,” Zdenek says.
French artists Sélène koeberlé and
Alexandre Brunner are among the first to
get employment at the center and have
been living in town since october. They
were traveling around iceland in search of
work when they heard about the project
while in the nearby town of Seyðisfjörður,
which has also developed into a hub for
creativity. earlier this year, the center took
over the production of Stubbur wooden
toys—wooden farm animals being their
trademark—creating two positions. The
toys, which have been made in iceland
for the past 20 years, are produced from
sustainable icelandic wood and painted
with natural colors, oils and beeswax. rósa
and Zdenek’s son emil is only too happy
to give the toys a test run. “it really is a
dream for a kid. And we get to learn too,
see how he plays with them and get ideas
about how we can make some changes,”
Brunner says.
More international artists are expect-
ed in town with the residency program.
“We’ve been receiving applications from
all over the world. We hope to have five
people here every month, which will be
great for the village,” rósa says.
rósa and Zdenek are quick to defend
their decision to live in this remote fjord
and say that while things certainly aren’t
always easy, there are advantages. “You
don’t need to work like crazy and have
endless loans. it’s tough but we have made
it work … but the main reason is that we
prefer life in the countryside and we want
to provide our son with the privilege of
growing up in a place like this,” she says.
rósa also praises the resilience and can-do
attitude of the community. “people are very
positive. We’ve had some bad times but
now it’s time for the good times. everyone
is ready to do whatever it takes.”
And Zdenek and rósa are thinking long-
term, with the renovations expected to
be completed and workshops and studios
fully functional by 2017. “Sustainability and
creativity are our key words,” Zdenek says.
With many other villages having disused
fish factories, the center is also aiming to
serve as a model for regeneration in other
parts of iceland and beyond. “We really
believe this is the solution, not just for here
but for other places.” And with so much
passion, they must have a good reason to
stay. “We don’t want the town to die—it
really is a paradise,” says rósa. *
the factory’s outer walls have been given a fresh look with the ‘street art gallery.’