Exciting shows and diverse walks

There is a lot on offer in Hafnarfjörður this summer, including exciting exhibitions, summer reading and Saturday opening hours at the library. Cultural and health walks are also being offered throughout the summer. Admission is free.

^{A piece of street art by the artist Juan adorns the gable of the house at 4 Strandgata. Beside the gable stands staff from the Service and Development Department of Hafnarfjörður. FRÉTTABLAÐIÐ/ERNIR}

A mural by the artist Juan adorns the gable of the house at 4 Strandgata, where various works can be seen that many will no doubt recognise, as it is a collage of selected outdoor artworks in the town.

An interview with Hólmar, Sigrún and Andri was published in Fréttablaðið on 13 July 2022.  

„This is an idea that was tossed back and forth between the artist and the Hafnarfjörður Cultural and Tourism Committee.“ says Hólmar Hólm, public relations officer for Hafnarborg. The artist got in touch and asked if there was anywhere in town available for a mural, and Juan has been creating artworks in public spaces all over the country, attracting attention for his work. When a location was sought, it was only natural to place the work on the gable of 4 Strandgata, which stands next to the town hall and the Bæjarbíó, as various images have adorned the wall in recent years.

^{Hólmar Hólm, press officer for Hafnarborg, says there are a variety of exhibitions on with interesting artists. FRÉTTABLAÐIÐ/ERNIR}

Then the idea came up to use the outdoor artworks owned by Hafnarfjörður and create a sort of collage from them, which delighted us at Hafnarborg, where we look after the town's outdoor artworks. It's a creative way to draw attention to this collection, which comprises around 30 outdoor artworks in the town and can be viewed by people at any time of the day or night. You do sometimes forget about the outdoor artworks that are all around us – we walk past them and they somehow just become part of the scenery. But this is an interesting collection here in Hafnarfjörður, comprising around 30 outdoor artworks, and it's fun to be able to draw attention to the art in new ways.“

^{Magnificent works are exhibited at Hafnarborg, but concerts are also held in high esteem there.}

Varied exhibitions at Hafnarborg

There are many concerts in Hafnarborg during the high summer, and the annual Song Festival recently concluded. „But art always embraces everything for us.“ says Hólmar Hólm, and two exhibitions are currently on display at the museum. One is a retrospective of the works of Gunnar Arnar Gunnarsson in the main hall of Hafnarborg. „The exhibition spans the artist's nearly 40-year career with works in different media – these are paintings, sculptures, works in papier-mâché, drawings and more. These were very different periods he went through. Gunnar was largely self-taught in the visual arts and was, in fact, Iceland's representative at the 1988 Venice Biennale, which is remarkable in itself. It is therefore pleasing to be able to shed light on his career again, as he has become somewhat forgotten in recent years, especially among younger people.“

However, this is an exhibition of new and recent works by the artist Sigurður Ámundason in Sverrissal. Sigurður usually works with drawings, but video works can also be seen at the exhibition. „It's always interesting when artists show new sides to themselves. Here he is working with imagery that we perhaps most associate with branding, where he creates a sort of logo out of letters and the alphabet. This is something that might look familiar, but we can't exactly read anything from it. Sigurður uses, among other things, the unique Icelandic letters and works with how we strive to find meaning in something that is on the borderline of being familiar and unfamiliar, personal and impersonal – and that's the whole point.“

^{Summer reading for children is under way at Hafnarfjörður Library. Sigrún Guðnadóttir, the library's director, says that the programme is for children aged 6–12, of primary school age, and the eldest children in nurseries.}

Saturday opening and „summer reading“ at Hafnarfjörður Library

This summer, the Hafnarfjörður Library is open on Saturdays for the first time, from 11 am to 3 pm. The library is open on Saturdays at other times of the year. This summer, the library is also offering a „summer reading“ programme, and Sigrún Guðnadóttir, the library director, says it is a programme for children aged 6 to 12, of primary school age, and the oldest children in nurseries. „Parents register their children for the summer reading scheme, the children then apply for a book, which they return. A „Reader of the Week“ is drawn once a week and receives a book as a prize. The books are in Icelandic, English and Polish, as there are many Polish-speaking people living in Hafnarfjörður.“

Sigrún says that the library works in partnership with the town's primary schools to have the reading diary handed out to the children by the library at school in the spring before the school year ends, and that headteachers mention this project at the end-of-year ceremony. „This is our project, but we also try to reach the children in the schools; not just those who come here to the library.“ At the end of the summer, on 3 September, there will be a summer reading harvest festival with an exciting programme for children.

Hafnarfjörður Library will turn 100 years old in October, on the 18th to be precise, and various events will be held to mark the occasion. „There will be a lot going on on 18th October. There will be events here all day, and on the Saturday before, 15th October, there will also be some commotion. Then there are anniversary events all year round, such as a play and concerts.“

^{There is always a lot going on at Hafnarfjörður Library, but in October the library is celebrating its centenary. The library is open on Saturdays this summer.}

Cultural and health walks

Hafnarfjörður is offering a variety of walks on Wednesday evenings at eight o'clock this summer, but sometimes the walks start earlier when they are aimed at children. „The programme is very varied.“ says Andri Ómarsson, project manager for cultural and marketing affairs. Among the past walks is the „fairy walk“, where Silja Gunnarsdóttir, owner of alfar.is, led a walk through fairy paths and told stories of elves, dwarves and hidden folk along the way. In the „Ha ha um Hafnarfjörð“ walk, Einar Skúlason from Wappin led people through the amusing streets of Hafnarfjörður's South Town, cracking a few choice Hafnarfjörður jokes along the way. Information about more walks can be found at hafnarfjordur.is.

Andri says that it varies whether the walk is within the town or if it goes outside the town. „Some walks are within the town limits, but several go outside the town.“ The final walk will then be on 31 August: The Story, the Museum and the Old Town. On that occasion, Björn Pétursson, Hafnarfjörður's town archaeologist, will lead a walk around the old town.