An empowering platform for young Icelandic artists

Creative summer jobs for the City of Hafnarfjörður are a springboard for the future.

Since 2021, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður has run Creative Summer Jobs in a different format to before. Now, young people aged 18-25 apply to take part, either individually or in a group, with a specific idea or project in mind. This new approach has been in development for the last two years and has proved exceptionally successful. When selecting projects, various factors are considered, such as the quality of the application, its connection to Hafnarfjörður, and the diversity of art forms. Klara Elíasdóttir is the project manager for Creative Summer Jobs and has been for the past two years. Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir, Head of the Youth Centres of Hafnarfjörður, is involved in selecting projects and hosting them over the summer.

It's about talented young artists finding their voice and their path.

„Eleven individuals are being hired and given the opportunity to shine by implementing their own idea and project. The group will pursue their idea for eight weeks, paid by the Hafnarfjörður Work School and based at the youth centre, Hamrar. All the projects to date have been realised and have been a credit to the town's residents,“ says Margrét Gauja. The projects have received awards and nominations, including for the Edda Awards, and have won the Icelandic Music Awards and the Reykjavík City Library's Christmas Story. Secondary schools have staged plays based on plays written at Creative Summer Jobs, and the town's cultural venues and institutions; the Town Cinema, Hafnarborg and the Hafnarfjörður Library have been able to enjoy the talents of these young people.

„These opportunities to create and shape their art have enabled the artists to apply to art schools abroad, to present projects, which opens up further collaboration and synergy between projects. Creative summer jobs are an empowering platform for young people to find their voice in creativity and express it, under the dedicated guidance of Klara Ósk Elíasdóttir.“.

Heklisgerði, the mind of a young refugee, and a polyphonic tale about elves

Creative summer jobs for the summer of 2023 are looking promising. Hellisgerði will be 100 years old this year and, to mark the occasion, a young craftsperson will create a graffiti of knitting, transforming the garden into a Crochet Garden. New music will be composed, released and performed all over town throughout the summer. A magazine for young people will be published, a short film about the inner world of young refugees will be made, and a cross-section of the town's residents will be featured on a special website. Other exciting projects include a multimedia installation about the town's hidden people, the painting of artworks, and documenting dance pieces through photography. Hafnarfjörður will be buzzing with creativity this summer, with works and projects that will pay dividends many times over to the town's residents, and not least to our young artists for the future.

Feature in the Hafnarfjörður Youth newspaper, published by Fjarðarfréttir on 22 May 2023