Creative Summer Jobs – Fljóðir

„Our names are Íris Ásmundardóttir and Guðrún Ísabella Kjartansdóttir, and we are the duo Fljóðir. Íris is a dancer and choreographer, and Ísabella is an amateur photographer and a computer science student. We have worked together a lot over the years with the aim of capturing dance movements on film in the Icelandic nature, so we thought it would be ideal to apply for the Creative Summer Jobs and thus get the opportunity to expand our idea and present it, intertwining it with more listræna þætti.“

The name ‘Fljóðir’ is a combination of many elements and words that relate to us as artists. We felt it was important to emphasise the fact that we are two women behind this artistic duo and the creation behind it – that's where the word ‘fljóð’ came from. We also work a lot with dance, nature and poetry – so a blend of words like flow, flood, earths, poem and fljóð became the word cocktail ‘Fljóðir’.

This summer we are creating a kind of ‘art world’ which will be presented as an ‘installation’ exhibition in Hafnarborg in Hafnarfjörður, 31 July. The exhibition is called A moment between moments and will consist of choreographic works in video format, where the inspiration for the choreography is the human connection with nature, the history of the locations, and how different natural environments influence movement. The process will then also be captured on film, where we engage with the concept of ‘a moment between moments’, and work with how the camera can capture the moment of the dance and movement within a natural environment. Poetry will also feature, as the dance pieces will be created alongside reflective poetry, giving the audience another perspective on the interpretation of the work. All the artistic elements will be combined in the exhibition itself to create a kind of world that the audience steps into, in order to get a holistic experience of the process and the art. Alongside the artistic creation and video production, we are also working on a website where we can allow the exhibition and our work to live on in digital form.

Iris Ásmundardóttir is a 23-year-old dancer from Hafnarfjörður. Íris decided early on that she wanted to pursue dancing professionally, and first attended a five-week summer school with Boston Ballet at the age of fourteen. The following summers, she went to New York, San Francisco and Frome in England, where she attended summer programmes with the American Ballet Theatre, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and the Mark Bruce Company.

After graduating from Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð and the classical ballet programme at the Iceland Dance School in the spring of 2018, Íris went to London to study at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. There, among other opportunities, she had the chance to perform at the Royal Opera House and work with choreographers such as Julie Cunningham, Kim Brandstrup, Cameron McMillan and Vidya Patel. Íris graduated from Rambert with a First Class BA (Hons) degree in the summer of 2021. In 2022/2023, she danced with the Emergence Postgraduate Dance Company in Manchester, under the artistic direction of Joss Arnott. There, she worked on a UK-touring production, which featured new works by Kevin Finnan, Gosia Mielech and Vidya Patel, alongside a restaging of Joss Arnott's choreography, Wild Shadows. In November 2022, Íris graduated with a Master's degree in ‘Performance and Professional Practices’ from the University of Salford. Recently, Íris has been working on independent projects, as well as teaching at the Iceland Dance School.

Isabela She is a 23-year-old computer science student at the University of Iceland, from Garðabær. She is a keen photographer and has worked as one for Wasteland Reykjavík for the past 3 years. Isabella has always had an artistic eye and is very skilled with her hands. She trained in ballet from the age of three but decided at 16 to focus on her studies at the Reykjavík Girls' School instead. Isabella has always had a great interest in film. She enjoys films that are well-made and make you think outside the box. At 17, she received her first film camera from her grandmother. For a long time, those closest to her had told her she had an old soul, and she had longed for a film camera for a long time. You could say the camera marked a turning point in her artistic life. With the film camera, she had the chance to experiment as a photographer. She really enjoyed, and still enjoys, photographing her friends and events. This particular hobby later turned into a job at Wasteland Reykjavík by chance, when the owner was looking for a member of staff with an interest in photography. This was a fantastic opportunity to expand her knowledge of photography, giving Ísabella even more experience and expanding her network. She has recently been collaborating extensively with Högna Sól Þorkelsdóttir, a textile student, and Íris Ásmundardóttir, a dancer. Alongside her photography, Ísabella is very keen on crocheting and knitting.

View event Fljóða Opening Exhibition – Moment by Moment | Facebook

Watch this space Fljóðir (@fljodir_duo) • Instagram photos and videos

About Creative Summer Jobs 2023

In the summer of 2021, the City 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 18-23 were also invited to submit ideas for creative projects in Hafnarfjörður. Selected groups were given the opportunity to work on various creative projects in different artistic fields that would also liven up the town's social life, delighting tourists and residents in one way or another. The staff of Creative Summer Jobs, run as part of the Hafnarfjörður Summer 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. Klara Ósk Elíasdóttir is the project manager for Creative Summer Jobs.

This year, there are nine diverse groups and individuals working as part of the creative summer jobs scheme, and they will be featured weekly over the summer.