Grapevine Picks: Festive Movie Parties, Abandoned Art and Reflecting on Seyðisfjörður

It’s Þorláksmessa! And almost Christmas! But there’s no let up in The Grapevine’s obsession with keeping our dear Reykvíkingar readers all cultured-up across the festive season. (And we’ve managed to get through this post so far without a single reference to fermented skate…)

Yfirgefin List

Until Jan 30th

Reykjavík Museum Of Photography

More information here

Guðmundur Óli Pálmason. Photo from Reykjavík Museum Of Photography.

Abandoned farmsteads in the Icelandic countryside have long captured the eye of Reykjavík artist Guðmundur Óli Pálmason, and inspired his work. In his creations the viewer meets obscure fragments from the past, which Guðmundur has captured using the old photography methods in which he specialises. The title translates as “Abandoned Art”, and the exhibition is so named because the artist leaves some of these works in rural areas—often in the place where the photo was taken—for anyone to find and own. JP

Christmas Movie Parties

23rd and 26th December, and 7th Jan

Bíó Paradís

More information here

Love, Actually! Die Hard! And erm… Pulp Fiction! Rather than get bogged down in the perennial argument about what constitutes a Christmas film, smuggle a bottle of sherry into Bíó Paradís, buy some of their lovely popcorn (‘cos it’s Christmas and you’re not a meanie), and get festive at these special party screenings. JP

When The Rain Comes, We Look Up To The Mountains

Ongoing

The Landslide Project

Online event here

Sævar lost his sand-blasting workshop to the mudslide. Photo Katja Goljat and Matjaž Rušt.

On 15th December 2020, heavy rains in eastern Iceland caused a catastrophic mudslide to descend a mountainside and hit the town of Seyðisfjörður. Miraculously nobody was hurt, but homes and businesses were destroyed—some being literally swept into the fjord. As the town picked itself up, a photography centre based in Seyðisfjörður followed the stories of human resilience and recovery. With support from the Seyðisfjörður Incentive Fund, the Ströndin Studio commissioned a portrait series by photographers Katja Goljat and Matjaž Rušt to capture the effects of this disaster on local people. To mark the anniversary the series has been made available online here, and the organisers hope to stage an exhibition event of prints at some point. JP

If you haven’t got all your Christmas shopping done yet, don’t fret! We have two perfect gift solutions for the Iceland lover in your life, both of which you buy online and which are delivered digitally. No postal delays or supply chain shenanigans here! Purchase a gift voucher from the Grapevine shop here: https://shop.grapevine.is/?=rhead and you’ll receive it instantly by email to pass on to the lucky recipient. Or get yourself a High Five Membership here: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/, and if you choose a higher tier you’ll immediately receive extra memberships for you to give away!