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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of the lambing season at Brimnes, a farm in the north of Iceland, in April 2008. Sheep farmer Arnar Gústafsson and his girlfriend Edda Björk take shifts watching over the nearly 300 ewes and helping them give birth 24/7 for about two months or until the last lamb is born. In Iceland, the arrival of lambs is synonymous with the arrival of summer. The lambing season is currently at its height.
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Located just 40 minutes by car and six minutes from Keflavík International Airport, Sandgerdi (“Sandy Hedge”) is a growing town of 1,700 with a storied history and loads to see. Read this special promotion about the hidden secrets of one of Iceland's most charming seaside villages.
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The Icelandic theater group Vesturport accepted the European Prize for New Theatrical Realities “for its complete work, its innovative character and originality,” at the 14th annual European Theater Awards in St. Petersburg last weekend.
Actor-director Gísli Örn Gardarsson, one of the founders of Vesturport. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
According to RÚV, this is the first time that Icelandic theater artists have been recognized at the European Theater Awards, “one of the most prestigious accolades in theatre,” as described by Will Gompertz of the BBC.
The awards, which took place between April 13 and 17, attracted 600-700 theater professionals, journalists and critics from all around the world, as stated on Vesturport’s website. Five other theater artists were awarded during the ceremony.
Vesturport staged two of its plays at the awards, The Metamorphosis and Faust. Both of these plays are technically complicated, but the performances went smoothly.
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir sent the Vesturport group a telegram to congratulate them on the recognition, as visir.is reports, stating:
“Your achievement and efficiency is both an honor for Icelandic culture, encouragement for all Icelanders and a remarkable stepping stone for others interested in promoting themselves in creative industries on the international arena.”
It was recently revealed that actor-director Gísli Örn Gardarsson of Vesturport would direct the Christmas play at the Royal Shakespeare Theater in the UK this year, which will feature the legendary Robin Hood.
Click here to read more about that story.
Magnús Skarphéðinsson, principal of the Icelandic Elf School, has expressed his concern that Independence Party MP Árni Johnsen may be subject to an accident after relocating a boulder allegedly inhabited by elves to his home in the Westman Islands.
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The first music festival this summer, Reykjavík Live, kicks off with concerts in the center of Iceland’s capital tonight and will carry on through May 20. The venues are Gamli Gaukurinn, Glaumbar, Prikið and Frú Berlaug.
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President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and his main rival for the presidential election on June 30, Þóra Arnórsdóttir, are supported by an almost equal number of voters, 41.3 and 43.4 percent, respectively, as indicated in a new survey.
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The West Fjords District Court ruled on Monday that a man found guilty of having drowned a Labrador by tying its front and hind legs, fastening it to car tires and throwing it in the ocean is to pay ISK 100,000 (USD 786, EUR 612) in fine.
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The current issue of the quarterly magazine Iceland Review includes interviews with fashion photographer Saga Sig and conceptual artist Rúrí. Also, we take you to Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, that desolate land coveted by a Chinese tycoon, and also explore Icelandic archeological remains. We discuss the Icelandic Church, the flourishing gaming industry, debate the future of Iceland’s energy resources and interview the president of the Icelandic National League of North America. Subscribe now and receive a free photo book by IR’s editor Páll Stefánsson of the Eyjafjallajökull eruptions. Click here to subscribe to the magazine and here to buy a gift subscription.
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REVIEWS
The Reykjavík Shorts&Docs was held in Reykjavík from May 6 to 9 in Bíó Paradís, and what an enriching experience it was to attend the festival.
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Shedding light on Iceland’s thousand-year history, as manifested in remains ranging from Viking graves to enchanted sites, Mannvist is a fundamental piece of writing. Ásta Andrésdóttir met with its author, archaeologist Birna Lárusdóttir.
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“The House Project” currently on display in Hafnarborg, the Hafnarfjörður Centre of Culture and Fine Art, is a new artwork by Hreinn Friðfinnsson consisting of a photography series of the three houses. His work is described as “a poetic and philosophical exploration of every day human experience.”
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