Reykjavík Arts Festival Is Kicking Off! Cool Stuff Happening Today!

Readers! Hello. As you may have noticed in our new issue, today is the opening of this year’s Reykjavík Arts Festival. So the streets of downtown are about to get pretty interesting. The theme of the festival this year is gender equality in the arts, censorship, and rights struggle – see what the festival’s Artistic Director has to say on the subject in our in-depth interview.

The festival’s opening day schedule is jam packed with cool stuff. So if you’re out on the streets today, or have a lunch-break or whatever, here’s a list of must see events that you can go to. Many are free, some are ticketed, and all are awesome. Gleðileg hatíð!

What: Guerrilla Girls
When: 12:00
Where: Tryggvagata 19 (East side of Kolaportið Flea Market)
Admission: FREE!

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of radical feminist artists who create billboards that comment on issues such as society, discrimination, politics, and pop culture. Today they unveil a specially commissioned work for the Arts Festival.

(Update: here it is!)

So @listahatid just unveiled the @guerrillagirls billboard in Reykjavik. It calls out the sexism in Icelandic film funding.

A photo posted by Reykjavik Grapevine (@rvkgrapevine) on May 13, 2015 at 5:03am PDT

What: BANDALOOP
When: 17:30
Where: Ingólfstorg, Aðalstræti 6
Admission: FREE!

California-based dance company BANDALOOP is world famous for dancing on the sides of buildings. Today, they are opening the Arts Festival with a grand performance. Read more here.

What: ‘The Next Great Moment in History Is Ours’ by Dorothy Iannone
When: 18:00
Where: Gallery GAMMA
Admission: FREE!

Dorothy Iannone (1933) is a visual artist whose work deals with censorship and women’s sexuality. Her work has been shown in the US and Germany, and now it will be shown in Iceland. The exhibition opening is this afternoon, and it will be on display until July 31.

What: ‘Black Feathers’ by Sigríður Soffía Níelsdóttir
When: 19:30
Where: National Theatre of Iceland
Admission: 4,950 ISK. Tickets can be purchased here.

Sigríður Soffía Níelsdóttir uses the poetry of Davíð Stefánsson (one of Iceland’s most beloved 20th century poets) as a basis for her choreographic work, ‘Black Feathers’ and has enlisted dancers, actors, musicians and live doves to create a unique dance piece where Icelandic poetry meets modern dance.

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Read Also:

ArtsFest Q&A: Erna Ómarsdóttir, Iceland Dance Company

Artsfest Q&A: Katrín Jakobsdóttir, MP & Former Culture Minister

ArtsFest Q&A: Ragnheiður Harpa Leifsdóttir, Artist

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