Eyrarrósin 2025
A total of 34 applications were submitted from across the country for the 2025 Eyrarrósin Award and the Eyrarrósin Incentive Award. Eyrarrósin recognises outstanding cultural projects based outside the capital area, with a focus on promoting cultural diversity, innovation and development in the arts and culture sector. The Eyrarrósin Incentive Award is aimed at new or developing projects that demonstrate strong artistic and social impact, with clear potential to become long-term, sustainable initiatives.
The awards are jointly sponsored by the Regional Development Agency, Icelandair and Reykjavík Arts Festival.
Image gallery
Recipient of Eyrarrósin 2025
Fish Factory in Stöðvarfjörður
The Fish Factory in Stöðvarfjörður is a cultural center and a platform for diverse artistic, cultural and innovative activities that significantly enrich the cultural life of the region. The Fish Factory is extremely important in its area and is a natural platform for live events, both organized and spontaneous. It increases the participation and access of residents to arts and culture and promotes cultural literacy.
“The Fish Factory connects artists, the community and fun”
The center features spacious studios, a blacksmith workshop, a ceramics studio, and a versatile facility equipped for mineral processing and events. These excellent amenities have drawn artists from diverse disciplines, both from Iceland and abroad. Visiting artists are provided with time and space to explore their ideas, create their work, and engage with the local community by sharing their projects and artistic visions.
Through these residencies, Stöðvarfjörður is uniquely connected to both the artists’ home communities and the broader international art scene. The center also plays an active cultural role by regularly hosting events and a wide range of courses in collaboration with the Fjarðabyggð municipality. These initiatives help to enrich the local cultural life by increasing access to music, theater, and the visual arts.
A notable example is the project Upptakturinn á Austurlandi, a free music workshop for young people, where participants gain hands-on experience in songwriting, recording, and music production under professional guidance.
When the freezer plant—once Stöðvarfjörður’s largest employer—shut down at the turn of the century, the future of the building was uncertain. In response, a dedicated group of volunteers came together and transformed the abandoned facility into a vibrant cultural and community hub—a remarkable achievement.
Today, the creative center stands at the heart of the community, fostering unity in a small and delicate rural area. Through sustainable activities, it has played a vital role in strengthening the local fabric and adding lasting value to the area.
Functioning as a creative cluster, the center is home to independent initiatives such as Studio Silo, Kvörn, and Steinasafnverkstæðið. It also provides a nurturing environment for new projects and businesses to emerge and grow. In collaboration with the local community and Fjarðabyggð municipality, the center has supported innovation and entrepreneurship within the creative industries.
As such, the Fish Factory has become a key driving force in the cultural and social development of East Iceland.
After 15 years of tireless work, the Creative Center has now been recognized as the fourth cultural center in East Iceland, along with Sláturhúsið, Skaftfell and Fjarðabyggð Cultural Center. The Fish Factory in Stöðvarfjörður has truly had a great impact on the artistic life and cultural landscape of East Iceland
Eyrarrósin Encouragement Award
Gletta
Gletta is a contemporary art exhibition space located in Borgarfjörður Eystri, open during the summer months. While the area has long been known for its vibrant music scene, Gletta enriches the cultural landscape by offering both locals and visitors access to a wide range of contemporary art.
The exhibition space is housed in a modern building by the harbor, offering stunning views of the fjord. This unique setting creates a powerful connection between the natural beauty of the region and contemporary artistic expression—bridging past and present, locals and visitors alike. These surroundings help inspire artists and engage art enthusiasts, fostering creativity and deepening appreciation for the arts.
Next summer, Gletta has an ambitious program planned, featuring exhibitions that highlight both local connections and broader artistic perspectives. The program will bring together artists whose work relates to the area, as well as those from other parts of Iceland and abroad.
Looking ahead, there are plans to offer workshops at Gletta—both short- and long-term—which would encourage meaningful interaction and collaboration between artists and the local community.
Afhverju Ekki
Afhverju Ekki, also known as “The Absolutely Everything Studio”, is an interdisciplinary studio-research center founded in 2024. The project is led by Dr. Jack Armitage, a researcher and artist.
Founded in 2024 by scholar and artist Dr. Jack Armitage, Afhverju Ekki is an interdisciplinary studio-research center located in Breiðanes, Laugar in the Þingeyjarsveit region of Iceland. The initiative fosters collaboration between art, science, and ecological innovation, addressing some of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time.
The center has already welcomed six international residents—scholars and artists—who have engaged in design, software development, and artistic creation, including contributions to Iceland’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.
The building houses a ceramics workshop that has proven to be important both in terms of learning and artistic creation, especially for the residents of the area. A fablab, wetlab and workspace are also being developed. Future aims include adding an art shop, facilities for recording podcasts and possibilities to host various events. The emphasis is on connecting with the local environment and the project includes important opportunities for the local community.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, a platform is created where culture and the arts influence ecological thinking and innovation and an emphasis is on the area becoming a leader in addressing urgent ecological challenges.
Afhverju Ekki promotes increased connections between art, science and nature, opens a window for international collaboration and provides domestic and foreign individuals with excellent facilities for academic work and artistic creation. This is a unique project in its field, not just in the Þingeyjarsveit region, but in the entire country.
Tankarnir in Raufarhöfn
In the northernmost town of Raufarhöfn, a remarkable transformation is taking place. Once used for storing oil and left empty since 2006, the town's largest oil tanks—the largest of their kind in Iceland—are being reimagined as “Art Tanks”. This initiative comes directly from the wishes of local residents, aiming to repurpose the structures as spaces for artistic and cultural expression.
The tanks, with their resonant acoustics and striking wooden roof structures, have already undergone important upgrades funded by the Regional Development Plan. They are now electrified, pedestrian-friendly, and accessible via a newly laid gravel path.
A draft art strategy has been prepared, and a three-summer program is currently in the works. Although the impact is still in its early stages—mostly envisioned in the hopes of the community—the long-term benefits are expected to be profound: cultural enrichment, social revitalization, and a renewed sense of place and identity for this fragile, peripheral settlement.
As one resident put it:
“The tanks stand in the middle of the town; rough, crooked, round; beautiful in their ugliness... The only thing that can be done is to fill them with wonder and art and use them to inspire people.”
More than just a creative reuse of industrial infrastructure, the Art Tanks represent Raufarhöfn’s ambition to reinvent itself—not by erasing its past, but by embracing it. These iconic structures, once symbols of fossil fuel dependency, are now being filled with hope, imagination, and new narratives, inviting artists and visitors from around the world to engage with this unique and evolving place.
