Absolute divas chosen as Hafnarborg's autumn exhibition 2025

Fifteenth Autumn Exhibition of Hafnarborg

'Absolute Queens' will be the exhibition at Hafnarborg next autumn. Proposals were invited this summer. The Hafnarborg Art Council and the museum director selected the exhibition from a number of proposals received through the museum's annual open call.

Jasa Baka and Petra Hjartardóttir, the curators of the winning proposal, will invite visitors to explore themes related to softness, power and feminine energy in contemporary art.

„The ultimate diva revolves around the different manifestations of sweetness, divine and mythical female archetypes, and the animism that regards (Mother) Nature as an ever-changing being. These ideas are then examined in relation to how they apply to people, places and things, particularly now that it can be said that feminine archetypes are emerging from their hiding places and transforming our understanding of identity and balance,“ it says on Hafnarborg's website.

Works created in a variety of media will be exhibited, with the aim of shedding light on how the participants interpret the various archetypes and mythological figures, as well as our relationship with nature. „Thus, Algjörar skvísur offers interesting perspectives on vulnerability and humanity by opening a gateway for the supernatural to flow into earthly life,“ says the Hafnarborg website.

• Jasa Baka is a multidisciplinary artist, a Canadian of Icelandic descent, who has been living and working in Iceland since 2017. She graduated with an MA in Fine Art from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2022. In 2008, she graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Concordia University in Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal), specialising in theatrical design. She has exhibited her work and performances in numerous venues in Iceland and Canada, as well as in New York and Athens.
• Petra Hjartardóttir is an artist who creates sculptures and installations in various media such as silver, ceramics and textiles. She has exhibited her work in galleries and museums in Iceland and abroad. She has also attended artist residencies in Norway, France and Italy. Petra graduated with an MFA in Sculpture from the Yale School of Art and holds a BFA in Fine Art from Hunter College in New York.

The exhibition will be the fifteenth in Hafnarborg's autumn exhibition series, and the project aims to give a wide range of curators the opportunity to submit a proposal for an exhibition at the museum and have their voices heard.

We are excited and look forward to seeing the result.