The Reykjavik Arts Festival will focus on the visual arts in
2012. The project is called (In)dependent People and will be focused on collaboration and artis initiatives. Swedish curator and theorist Jonatan Habib Engqvist has been appointed curator of the exhibitions and seminar that will take place in the 2012  festival.

The City of Reykjavik has received the honorary title of 2011 World Festival and Event City. The award was announced at the International Festivals & Events Association‘s (IFEA) annual convention on 3rd October 2011.  

at Reykjavík Arts Festival this spring with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in the music hall of Harpa.

The Reykjavík Arts Festival 2011 closed past Sunday night after seventeen eventful and action-packed days, with the participation of over 500 artists and tens of thousands of delighted Festival guests. Attendance to this year's Festival was exceptional, with many of the events selling out well in advance.

The opening week of the Reykjavík Arts Festival was filled with awe, excitement and standing ovations...

Orkiestra „Crakovia Sinfonietta" wystąpi w Reykjaviku w ramach „Reykjavik Art  Festival" z projektem SOLARIS - kompozycją inspirowaną powieścią Stanisława Lema oraz filmem Tarkowskiego z 1972 roku o tym samym tytule.

The past week's program  included opening of visual art exhibitions, premieres of new dance and theatre pieces and of course, one volcanic eruption. The eruption has now stopped and luckily has had a minimal effect on the Festival´s programme. Don't miss the forthcoming ten days of the Reykjavík Arts Festival 2011, filled with more exciting events of all shapes and sizes.

The opening week of the Reykjavík Arts Festival was filled with awe, excitement and standing ovations. In downtown Reykjavík, thousands watched The Birth of Venus by Spanish group La Fura dels Baus with the participation of more than seventy brave artists, who danced in the sky high above the ground. In Harpa, Iceland‘s new concert hall, no one was untouched by the opera concert performed by the great German tenor Jonas Kaufmann and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.  Take a look at photos and videos from the first week of the Festival.

A lot of foreign journalists were present at the Reykjavik Arts Festival opening weekend in Reykjavik. The journalists, who are from Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Nordic countries attended the concerts of Olof Arnalds and Skuli Sverrisson, Jonas Kaufmann and the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in Harpa and Erna Ómarsdóttir´s dancepiece. An article appeared in the Daily Telegraph.

Today, Hrefna Haraldsdóttir director of the Reykjavík Arts Festival revealed the full 2011 Festival Programme with a press conference and opened the Festival Box office.

Ólöf Arnalds and Skúli Sverrisson are to open the Festival this year with a joint concert in Harpa's Northen Lights Room.

Ojos de Brujo, from Barcelona, fuse flamenco's driving rhythms with hip-hop, funk, punk and other stray sounds snatched from the Barcelona street.The Reykjavík Arts Festival Concert is a part of their 10 year Anniversary Tour, Corriente Vital. 

British newspaper The Telegraph published an article recently in its travel section on the Reykjavík Arts Festival. The article reccommended a visit to Reykavík in May to experience the exciting events on offer at the Reykjavík Arts Festival. Readers were particularly encouraged to secure tickets to the concert of German tenor Jonas Kaufmann in Icelands stunning new concert hall- Harpa. Read the article here.

The performing arts are a prominent feature of this year‘s programme, which is best desribed as a feast of music and dance, brimming with exiting concerts of all kinds, striking dance performances and colorful theatre experiences for all ages. A spirit of collaboration of many art forms can be felt in many events this year, opening doors to inspiring experiences for audiences and artists alike.

With exceptional concert halls, the largest of which accommodates up to 1,800 people, the long awaited Concert Hall will enhance the vibrant musical culture of Reykjavik. Throughout its inaugural year, Harpa will welcome a dynamic roster of international performances to its stages. Among them will be some of the programs of the Reykjavík Arts Festival, which will include a performance by Jonas Kaufman, one of the best tenors worldwide, produced in collaboration with Reykjavik Art Festival, ISO and Harpa.

Snow day for Lhasa - a new song  written in memory of Lhasa de Sela.