Creative Summer Jobs – Esjar / Huldufólk in Hafnarfjörður
The artist and the lyricist Iron ore is working as part of this year's Creative Summer Jobs in Hafnarfjörður, gathering information about the hidden people of the town and putting together an illustrated pocketbook.
„My name is Esjar Eiríkur and am an artist and writer. I am fascinated by all the things that are easy to miss in the world and nature, and enjoy writing prose, poetry, and stories for the bookshelf at home, friends, and family. In my art, however, I work a great deal with plot, nature and characterisation. I am currently studying for a BA in Fine Art at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.“
„My project this summer is about gathering information on elves, particularly the elves of Hafnarfjörður, and creating an illustrated pocket book based on it.“
An enjoyable and informative creative process
„Over the last few weeks, I've been working on writing and putting together the text, and now I've just started on the illustrations, but the writing is being reviewed. I started the project in June, but the first step was to gather information, interview people and familiarise myself with what we know about elves. I did this, among other things, by putting up posters around town, walking around with a horn on my head on the 17th of June, chatting to people and poring over old books. The process has been both very enjoyable and informative, and I feel I know much more about these hidden creatures now than when I first had the idea. What I have enjoyed the most so far has been learning from people who know more than I do about folklore and popular belief, as well as visiting alleged fairy dwellings myself with an open mind.“
The book will be available at Hafnarfjörður Library this autumn.
Esjar premiered the final product at the creative summer jobs' harvest festival on the 6th of August. However, the book will also be available at Hafnarfjörður Library this autumn.
See the news about Creative Summer Jobs Harvest Festival this year.
„To follow me on my adventures, it's best to follow me on Instagram: @spesjar, but I'm working on moving to a better platform and setting up a website, and will advertise it there when the time comes.“
About Creative Summer Jobs 2026
In the summer of 2021, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður, in collaboration with the town's youth centre, Hamarinn, decided to revive the “Creative Summer Jobs” project, which had been run in the summer of 2017. Individuals and groups aged 18-25 were invited to submit ideas for creative projects in Hafnarfjörður. Selected groups were given the opportunity to work on various creative projects in different areas of the arts, which would also liven up the town's social life and delight tourists and residents in one way or another. The staff of the Creative Summer Jobs, run as part of the Hafnarfjörður Work School, are tasked with bringing the town to life, making it more fun, beautiful and diverse with artistic and creative events. The projects are varied and appeal to different age groups and interests.
This year, there are nine diverse projects operating as part of the Creative Summer Jobs scheme, and they will be presented weekly throughout the summer.