The area around Elliðaárstöð has been refurbished completely, offering good access for wheelchairs.
BUS: 3, 11, 12, 16, 17

On the final day of the festival, the area around Elliðaárstöð will be transformed into a truly wondrous world where anything can happen!

Mysterious creatures will pop up amidst the trees, dancing along to live music. Strange sounds of S.L.Á.T.U.R. illuminate the area. Masked members of the Cloud Factory and the agile acrobats of Hringleikur surprise guests with goosebump-inducing acts that will entertain all ages. And Þykjó invites everyone into their workshop of fantastic birds. Enticing scents from food trucks will whet our appetites as we enjoy a range of events in the gorgeous outdoors.

There is good wheelchair access to Hafnarhús and wheelchairs are available at the gallery.

BUS: 1, 3, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 55

Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė (LT)
Vaiva Grainytė (LT)
Lina Lapelytė (LT)

Imagine a beach. The burning sun, sunscreen and bright bathing suits and sweaty palms and legs. Tired limbs sprawled lazily across a mosaic of towels. Imagine the occasional squeal of children, laughter, the sound of an ice cream van in the distance. The musical rhythm of waves on the surf, a soothing sound. The crinkling of plastic bags whirling in the air, their silent floating, jellyfish-like, below the waterline. The rumble of a volcano, or of an airplane, or a speedboat. Then a chorus of songs: everyday songs, songs of worry and of boredom, songs of almost nothing. And below them: the slow creaking of an exhausted Earth, a gasp.

Described as “a lament to the eclipse of the world … an astonishing performance” (The Guardian), the opera Sun & Sea took the 2019 Venice Biennale by storm as the Lithuanian pavilion, winning the coveted Golden Lion. Arriving at the Reykjavík Art Museum (Hafnarhús) for the Reykjavík Arts Festival following its triumph, this durational installation/performance will surprise, mesmerize and blur the lines between art forms. The Reykjavík performance features black sand from Iceland’s coastline.

The performance loops continuously, for four hours each day. The audience is free to come and go as they please.

www.sunandsea.lt
contact: info@sunandsea.lt

artists: 
Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė and Lina Lapelytė

Curator: Lucia Pietroiusti
Commissioner: Rasa Antanavičiūtė
Honorary Commissioner: Jean-Baptiste Joly

Imagine a beach – you within it, or better: watching from above – the burning sun, sunscreen and bright bathing suits and sweaty palms and legs. Tired limbs sprawled lazily across a mosaic of towels. Imagine the occasional squeal of children, laughter, the sound of an ice cream van in the distance. The musical rhythm of waves on the surf, a soothing sound (on this particular beach, not elsewhere). The crinkling of plastic bags whirling in the air, their silent floating, jellyfish-like, below the waterline. The rumble of a volcano, or of an airplane, or a speedboat. Then a chorus of songs: everyday songs, songs of worry and of boredom, songs of almost nothing. And below them: the slow creaking of an exhausted Earth, a gasp.

Sun & Sea (Marina)  - Venice 2019 official trailer

Artists: Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, Lina Lapelytė
Curator: Lucia Pietroiusti
Technical Director: Lique van Gerven
Sound Engineer: Romuald Galiauskas
Tour coordinator and Stage Manager: Erika Urbelevič
Visual Identity: Goda Budvytytė
English libretto: Rimas Uzgiris
Originally produced by: Neon Realism
Producer: Aušra Simanavičiūtė
Co-commissioned by: Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts, Akademie Schloss Solitude Goethe-Institut, Münchner Kammerspiele, National Gallery of Art in Vilnius, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, The Momentary, Arkansas and Reykjavik Art Museum.

Would you like to join us on the beach? 
We are now looking for extras of all shapes and sizes to lie on the beach with the artists, doing as little as possible. Would you like to take part? 

Sign up here!

Sun & Sea is in collaboration with Reykjavik Art Museum

4 June 2022, 12:00-16:00
5 June 2022, 12:00-16:00

Golden Lion at 2019 Venice Biennale - One of last year’s most talked-about art events in the world

Tjarnarbíó offers good wheelchair access. Neither Tankurinn nor Herðubreið are wheelchair accessible. Svavarssafn, located in Hornafjörður Town Hall, has good wheelchair access.


Inga Huld Hákonardóttir (IS)
Yann Leguay (BE)

Again the Sunset is an experience which occupies the space between concert and performance; a haunted love song that travels through the voice to the body, to raw elements and materials, like an expressive entity without an inherent body.

Two humans put their bodies to work. They work to continue and continue to work, they move what needs to be moved and sing what needs to be sung about deceptive stones, dubious clouds and hopeless histories of love. Words circle around and around like haunting thoughts as the natural elements are met with a sculptural and sonic approach.

again_the_sunset_-_trailer (720p).mp4

Inga Huld Hákonardóttir is one of Iceland‘s most innovative contemporary choreographers and has worked internationally in the field of dance and performance. Yann Leguay is a cutting edge sound artist. In Again the Sunset, these artists come together to create an audiovisual rambling of thoughts on a night of insomnia.

Choreography: Inga Huld Hákonardóttir
Soundscape: Yann Leguay
Scenography: Inga Hákonardóttir, Yann Leguay
Lights: Gregory Rivoux
Artistic Advisor: Gaëtan Rusquet
Production: Kunstenwerkplaz Pianofabriek og Kosmonaut production
Photography: Stanislav Dobak

One of Iceland‘s most innovative contemporary choreographers. A performance blurring the line between dance and concert .

Harpa is very accessible for wheelchair users, with three lifts going straight from the basement car park up to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th floors. Special wheelchair seating areas must be pre-booked at Harpa. Hearing loops are available in reception. Seats for guests accompanied by assistance dogs must be pre-booked at Harpa.

BUS: 1, 3, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 55

Emilíana Torrini (IS)
The Colorist Orchestra (BE)

"Emiliana meets her orchestral match” (Uncut Magazine)"

Emilíana Torrini and The Colorist Orchestra take to the Eldborg stage in Harpa at the Reykjavík Arts Festival. Their musical collaboration is a truly enchanting, colourful and vibrant experience not to be missed. 

Belgian band The Colorist Orchestra have garnered praise for their original and dynamic approach to arranging and performing music by various artists. In recent years Emilíana Torrini, one of Iceland’s most diverse and talented musical artists, has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the band which has given new life to her beloved songs. These musicians are now working on their second album together, Racing the Storm, as an identity with its own aural uniqueness emerges. 

**** The Guardian - “A vibrant, colourful collection of classical and contemporary collisions”

**** The Wall Street Journal - “Enchanting”

**** MOJO - “Rousing, otherworldly, outlandish"

ET.mp4

Emilíana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra

Disabled parking can be found by Hallgrímskirkja square and the square is wheelchair accessible.

BUS: 1, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 55

In Hallgrímskirkja square, three pairs of quiet figures appear. Armored, provocative beings confront vulnerable, androgynous figures who despite their apparent vulnerability stand strong against aggression. The interplay of opposites and antagonistic forces also sparks notions of fusion – of a possible dialogue, relations despite differences.

The roots of Armors, Steinunn Þórarinsdóttir‘s stunning exhibition, go back to the artist‘s time in NYC almost a decade ago. At the Metropolitan Museum, the artist became fascinated with its extensive armors collection and of armors as a symbol of power and aggression. A collaboration between the artist and the museum ensued and the figures displayed outside Hallgrímskirkja are based on three precious medieval armors from Germany, England and Italy that were 3D scanned with great precision by museum staff and turned into cast metal sculptures.

Information on the creative process behind the exhibition will be displayed in the Hallgrímskirkja foyer while the sculptures stand in the square.

The exhibition is located in Pósthússtræti by Austurvöllur, with good access to the exhibits.

BUS: 1, 3, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 55

Hrafn Hólmfríðarson Jónsson (Krummi) (IS)

Bene Fits is a compelling and intimate work of photography by Krummi, dealing with the reality of being disabled and living in poverty in the 21st century Icelandic welfare state – of a deprived existence in one of the world‘s wealthiest countries. Bene Fits places the personal alongside the socio-economic, creating an experience that stirs us, sparks reflection and offers a new vision. The work starkly underlines the interplay between market and welfare system in a society where happiness is said to lie in increased purchasing power. Where does that leave those of us who cannot take part in the consumer frenzy?

Krummi was born in Reykjavík in 1990. He graduated from the School of Photography in early 2021 and has since gained praise for his atmospheric and sensitive photography. His work has been exhibited at Gallerí Port, Ásmundarsalur, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography and at the Copenhagen Photo Festival.

Krummi‘s photographs will be displayed in Pósthússtræti by Austurvöllur throughout the summer.

The exhibition is in collaboration with the City of Reykjavik.

Hallgrímskirkja is accessible to wheelchair users.

BUS: 1, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 55

Hugi Guðmundsson (IS), Schola Cantorum (IS), Hörður Áskelsson (IS), Oslo Sinfonietta (NO), Berit Norbakken (NO)


World premiere of a new oratorio by composer Hugi Guðmundsson.


The Gospel of Mary is a new and magnificent oratorio by Hugi Guðmundsson, one of Iceland's foremost contemporary composers. Nila Parly and Niels Brunse's libretto is largely based on a 5th century eponymous sacred text, believed to have been kept secret since it jarred with the Christian orthodoxy of those times. It is an unconventional and progressive interpretation of Christ's message as a path to inner wisdom, rejecting death and suffering as ways to achieve eternal life. The gospel hints at Mary Magdalene having been an apostle, a truly volatile idea. This ancient gospel strongly resonates with our modern times, while the composer elevates it into a timeless space.

The work is performed by a group of outstanding musicians: Schola Cantorum, Oslo Sinfonietta and Berit Norbakken, conducted by Hörður Áskelsson who commissioned the oratorio on behalf of the Friends of the Arts Society, original commissions being at the heart of the society's work. Berit Norbakken is one of Norway's best-known sopranos and has performed around the world, including in the Sydney Opera House and Tokyo Opera Palace.


Hugi Guðmundsson is one of the foremost representatives of Icelandic contemporary music, and an increasingly important name on the Nordic music scene. He was nominated twice for the Nordic Council Music Prize, including for the critically acclaimed opera Hamlet in Absentia. Guðmundsson is educated as a composer at Reykjavik College of Music and Royal Danish Academy of Music, where he studied with Bent Sørensen, Niels Rosing-Schow and Hans Abrahamsen. He took his second master's degree at the Sonology Institute in The Hague, in electronic music and computer music. Guðmundsson is particularly known for his a cappella works, but has also written music for solo instruments and orchestra. In recent years, major works have become a larger part of his production, both concerts and opera, resulting in several awards and praise from critics.

Hörður Áskelsson is an award-winning conductor and organist, originally from Akureyri in northern Iceland. Áskelsson began as cantor in Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavik in 1982. He established several choirs that achieved international recognition, including the Schola Cantorum, which today is one of Iceland's leading chamber choirs. He is also the man behind the Festival of the Sacred Arts and Friends of the Arts Society. The Icelandic conductor has received several music awards at home and abroad, and was awarded the Knight's Cross from the Icelandic Falcon Order for his work.

Schola Cantorum was established in 1996 by Hallgrimskirkja's cantor Hörður Áskelsson, who is still the conductor of the choir. In addition to a repertoire of Renaissance and Baroque music, Schola Cantorum performs a great deal of contemporary music, and has premiered many works by contemporary Icelandic composers. The choir was named the official music ensemble of the city of Reykjavik in 2006, won awards in choral championships in France and Italy, and was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize. They have also collaborated with Hague International Baroque Orchestra, as well as the singer Björk and the band Sigur Rós.

Oslo Sinfonietta is Norway's oldest active contemporary music ensemble. The ensemble consists of freelance musicians and members of some of Norway's most prominent orchestras, such as the Oslo Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Norwegian National Opera Orchestra and Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. Christian Eggen is conductor and artistic director. Oslo Sinfonietta performs regularly at Norwegian and international festivals and collaborates with a number of leading composers. In autumn 2015, Oslo Sinfonietta was awarded the Critics' Prize for the project Lachenmann! from June the same year.

Berit Norbakken is among the elite of Norwegian sopranos. In addition to being chosen often as a soloist in oratorios, passions and masses, she has held several solo concerts at a number of festivals in Norway. In recent years she has also performed in operas with great success, most recently in a new stage production of Bach's St John Passion, directed by Calixto Bieito, at Theatro Arriaga in Bilbao. She is a regular soloist with leading orchestras and conductors at major concert venues, such as the Sydney Opera House and Tokyo Opera City Hall with conductors such as Robert King, Daniel Reuss, Erik Nielsen, Mikhael Pletnev, Andreas Spering, Olof Boman and Ottavio Dantone.

Niels Brunse is a writer and translator. He has translated over 200 works from English, German and Russian, including a wide range of plays by classical and modern playwrights, primarily Shakespeare, but also Chekhov, Kleist, Pinter, Beckett, Brecht, Dürrenmatt, Tennessee Williams and others. Brunse has written novels, short stories, song lyrics and drama, and recently finished a complete re-translation of Shakespeare's plays. He has received several literary prizes, including the honorary prize from the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation and the Literature Prize from Weekendavisen.

Nila Parly is a librettist and opera dramaturg. Since 2005, she has participated in a number of productions, including at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. Parly was a playwright in the production of Niels Marthinsen's Skriftestolen (The Pulpit) at the Jutland Opera in 2007, which received the Reumert Prize as "Best Musical Theatre" the same year. Nila Parly is also a trained opera singer, and entitled her doctoral dissertation Vocal Victories: Richard Wagner’s Female Characters from Senta to Kundry at the University of Copenhagen, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies. 

A wheelchair ramp is located by the entrance to Petersen-svítan and provides access for guests of Gamla bíó. A lift will take you to accessible toilets in the basement area.

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (IS), Hamid Khansari (IR), Sigríður Thorlacius (IS), Sara Rezazadeh (IR), Hooman Roomi (IR), Bahar Modiri (IR), Aryan Rezaee (IR)

New and enchanting dimensions open up at the Persian Path concert which features an outstanding lineup of five Iranian and two Icelandic musicians. The repertoire comes from Ásgeir Ásgeirsson and Hamid Khansari‘s acclaimed album of the same name. Their collaboration has been praised as an innovative, daring and powerful encounter between musical vibes across continents. It is not every day that esteemed musicians from Iran and Iceland come together on stage to perform a set of brand new arrangements of folk songs from their regions. Persian instruments, harmonies, rhythm and creation interweave with old Icelandic melodies and Sigríður Thorlacius‘ vibrant voice. From Tehran a group of highly talented musicians will join Hamid, Ásgeir and Sigríður on the stage: Sara Rezazadeh, Hooman Roomi, Bahar Modiri and Aryan Rezaee.

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson has taken Icelandic folk music on a fruitful journey through the Middle East and Southeastern Europe where this music is given new life beyond the Western world.

An enchanting musical journey linking Iceland and Iran

Reykjavík Arts Festival will next take place 1-19 June 2022.

Reykjavík Arts Festival hosts outstanding artistic creations from all corners of the world while also nurturing a powerful and vibrant relationship with its audiences, widening the circle to include as many as possible so that they may enjoy the arts on their own terms.

Reykjavík Arts Festival celebrates diversity and prioritises accessibility and respect for the environment in all decision making. Programming is driven by courage, professionalism, joy and big thinking.

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2023

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