Pot luck dinner will be held at Nes Studios, Fjörubraut 8, Skagströnd
at 19:00

We are welcoming our artists to Nes and embracing those who have been with us already!
In residence we have:

Alexander Clinthorne- USA, mixed media/clay sculpture (clinthornecompositions.blogspot.com)
Kimberlie Wong – USA, painting/drawing (kimiewong.blogspot.com)
Theresa Northway – USA, drawing/sculpture/ceramics
Ulgen Semerci – Turkey, painting/drawing/mixed media (www.ulgensemerci.com)
Katharina Kamph – Germany, drawing/sculpture/mixed media (www.kamph.net)
Verena Faisst – Germany, photography/mixed media/performance (verenafaisst.de)
Polly Stanton – Australia, photography/installation (pollystanton.com)

We welcome back from February:
Liz Layton, USA, multi-disciplinary, painting/drawing/mixed-media/installation (lizlayton.tumblr.com)
Christian Castañeda Vásquez – Mexico, multi-disciplinary, painting/drawing/photography/installation

We continue to embrace!:
Léa Donnan (sculptor/mixed media/installation) from Australia.
og
Rossella Piccinno (film/photography) from Italy

Bring a plate of food to share to the Nes Studios and join us for good food and good company.

-Melody

The film was commissioned for the preschool in Skagaströnd, a village of 500 inhabitants on the northcoast of Iceland, and in celebration of it’s 35-th anniversary.
You are watching 88 pupils and staff who are or were at Leikskólinn Barnaból between 1977-2012.

á Nes!

Opið hús í Nes listamiðstöð

Við bjóðum alla velkomna í Nes listamiðstöð til að hitta listamenn aprílmánaðar og skoða listaverk þeirra.

Listamennirnir eru:

Rossella Piccinno, kvikmyndagerðarkona og ljósmyndari, sem hefur verið á ferð og flugi um allan bæinn að mynda mannlífið og alls konar viðburði.

Merete Röstad, hún notar margbreytilegar listaðferðir en vinnur núna einkum með ljósmyndir.

Alexandra Häberli sem málar og notar klippimyndir til að búa til nýja heima á veggjum listamiðstöðvarinnar.

Léa Donnan, hún býr til ísskúlptúra. notar margvísleg efni tengd iðnaði og er farin að kynnast fólkinu á höfninni.

Kvikmynd: ´Barnabol 35´ eftir AnneMarie van Splunter, kl. 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30, 18:00, 18:30. !!! 

Við vonum að þú komir í kaffi og „snack“ og njótir verka listamannanna.

Opið hús – fimmtudaginn, 26. apríl, kl. 16.00-19.00.

///

We invite everyone to our Open House this Thursday 26th April.

Melody Woodnutt. Film Still, 2011.

Artist residencies are by nature transient, ephemeral, intensive, and inspiring.

Bursts of immediate insights, light, and energy pops our eyes out when we see things newly and differently. The act of observation, noticing, influences, and our bodys´ presence in space and place offers us the gift of new ideas and new life. It is something valuable to experience a new place, and to try and adjust ourselves, to adapt. To join in, to be.

I have been an artist in residence here at Nes twice before; this time I am here to direct it. 2.5 weeks ago I flew across the world from Australia to work in the directors chair. I did it for the love I have for Skagaströnd and for Iceland, for the landscapes, and for the glowing and ever changing light here. Of course; also for the people, whom I have such respect for. They are kind, ambitious and proactive in the most astounding way for such a small village, the remoteness and dramatic weather is tackled head on. Nothing is impossible here, unless nature dictates otherwise, and here you must always respect nature first, because she will not respect you.

It is all because this place has something. Something so unique, I can´t describe it nor should I. I can only work hard here to develop the residency into a deserving cultural and artistic hub, reflective of Icelands´ thriving and saturated arts climate. With ideas and projects current and future exciting me to jump in, I have to remember to drink tea to calm the charged headaches that come from thinking so much. This is the land of the willing indie crowds and of the enduring fisherman, and with the combination of artistic and enduring strong traits embedded in Icelands´ Viking descendants, I will have much to learn and keep up with.

I approach the residency like I approach my own art works. As an environment to house emotions, mood, the body, and to create a circumstance for action to happen. I am an inter-disciplinary artist that transforms spaces into a place to come and be, to react, to sit, to feel. My installation works are 360°, they involve sound, darkness, light, mixed media, sculpture, and performance, with an emphasis on sensory elements. They are often housed in galleries, theatres, or terrain vague. Mostly, they exist for us to immerse ourselves and our bodies into a new environment so we might learn something new about ourselves. So as to feel something, recognise something, or experience something foreign or unexpected. For us to be acutely aware of our surroundings, and to draw out what we will within ourselves from those surroundings.

Much the same as my art work, I hope to provide a space at the residency that is supportive and conducive to this ethos. To provide a space where artists can come to experiment, explore themselves and their work, and find something new or unexpected. A place where artists go through emotions, feel the environment around them, and react.

I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.

Bestu kveðja,

Melody Woodnutt

Director, Nes Artist Residency.

London will be known for the 2012 Olympics this year, and by no means will culture and arts be left out. Maurice Orr, a resident artist of Nes Listamiðstöð Artist Residency in October 2009, has been selected to present work as a part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. His work ´The Screaming Silence of the Wind´was presented at Ballymoney Museum in February this year. Maurice used a number of materials to ´create four sensory installation pieces inspired by the raw, barren landscapes of his native Northern Ireland. Through sound, paint and natural materials such as fish leather, the piece will evoke a holistic feeling of place. Visitors to the exhibition, The Screaming Silence of the Wind, will be encouraged to touch the surfaces, look at the landscapes and listen to the sounds that have inspired him.´ – Ballymoney Times.

Orr was quite literally, and artistically, blown away by Iceland during his time in Skagaströnd. The light and its´ changing effect on nature being one specific reason. Those who have visited Skagaströnd may recall the fish leather factory 40 minutes drive from Nes.

We wish him every success for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, and of course hope to see him again!

http://rossellapiccinno.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/final-destination/

Rossella Piccinno is a film maker, photographer, and mixed media artist from Italy.

´Rossella Piccinno’s work explores cultural identity, problems linked to discrimination or the conflict involved in power and role games in the family as in the community. She often works on individual and collective memory and the relation this develops with the past.´

Claire Pendrigh

http://clairependrigh.wordpress.com/

A fast overview of a variation of unseen landscapes with the light changing all the time. Wide-open spaces, lava fields, black beaches, glaciers, icebergs, snow, rain, wind, clouds, sun, and northern lights.

The most memorable scene occured on Feb 13, at night, between Egilsstaðir and Mývatn, in the middle of a lunar no man’s land. Lights started to steam out all over the sky as we were driving. We stopped the car to witness this incredible sight: 150km/h wind with green and pink glints lightning the landscape.

An experience close from watching a science fiction road movie at an increasingly fast rate.

Follow the project on :

http://creative.arte.tv/en/space/_TWNP

http://www.twnp.net

The massive meat feast of lamb heads and sour fish and putrid pungent rotten shark that make you see green sparkles. And black pudding. Sketch comedy, local Skagaströnd style. Before Halldór got the black eye.  Dancing with all the artists. Dancing with all the Icelanders.  Meeting the Elvis-loving Omar, who is self proclaimed as  the “main attraction of Skagaströnd”.   Sid changing Miguel’s life by showing him that he can also make harmonica sounds by inhaling, not just exhaling.  Icelandic bands playing Beatles covers and heavy-metal version of Smoke on the Water.

The current artists-in-residence at NES will be showing the outcome of their one or two-month stay in Skagaströnd on Tuesday the 21st of February at 1700 – 1900 pm. Working in different media such as painting, video, installation, textile and photography, the artists will turn their studio into an exhibition space, putting on display both finished art pieces and works-in-progress.

Some of the artists have worked directly with the environment in and around Skagaströnd and with Icelandic history and society: Dutch artist AnneMarie van Splunter is finalizing a documentary about the leikskóli in Skagaströnd, American artist Liz Hope Layton has produced paintings and video based on the story of Þórdís the prophetess and Italian artist Barbara Gamper has been investigating the notions of place and identity in Iceland. Franco-Spanish artist Luis Milguel Dominguez is drawing a landscape with ink on a 10meter canvas, Mexican artist Christian Castañeda Vázquez has been working on drawings based on Icelandic myths and fables and German artist Christin Lutze has brought the colours of the Icelandic winter landscape into her acrylic paintings. Sid Blevins has been working on musical pieces, while Elsa di Venosa and Hugo Deverchère from France are working on a video project, they are drawing the story of an aerial journey inspired by the lunar landscapes of the country.

With the wind constantly howling outside, the NES studio has been an almost 24-hour workplace for us over the last few weeks. It has been a remarkable experience to be absorbed by work in the light, spacious studios for hours at an end, and then to walk out the door into a roaring blizzard and to ten centimetres of snow that wasn’t there in the morning. Every day the landscape around Skagaströnd, – the mountains, the sea and the fields, – are different in colour and texture.

One has to be pretty numb not to be affected by the intensity of nature in and around Skagaströnd, – the scarcity of light and the colours of the aurora borealis. But if the wind gets too strong we find a lamp post to hold on to, or if visibility is less than one meter on our way home at night, we turn around and go back to the studios. There’s food in the fridge, there’s blankets, there’s a few couches. We could stay put for a couple of weeks in the studios if we have to. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

We had a very successful “Potluck dinner” welcoming our 11 artists to Nes, over 20 people from the community came to greet our artists and share some traditional food. Please enjoy!
Special thanks to Christian Castañeda Vázquez for providing these photos.

In the garden of found objects of Placido Este, assembly, mixed materials, variable dimension, 2011, Iceland, Dario Lazzaretto

Winding – installation, group of three aeolian harps, various material, variable dimension, 2011, Iceland, Dario Lazzaretto

Alarm mode (WE-YOU), video, 1’55”, 2011, Iceland, Dario Lazzaretto

Alarm mode (WE-YOU), video, 1’55”, 2011, Iceland, Dario Lazzaretto

Alarm mode (WE-YOU), video, 1’55”, 2011, Iceland, Dario Lazzaretto

All interested applicants should go to neslist.is and apply. When sending in the additional materials please describe how you would approach this project, your unique visions and the direction you would take.

Please consider in your application how you would deal with the language barrier. If there is interview work in this film it would be in Icelandic and not everyone here speaks english.

The deadline for submission is December 5. If you are interested please apply at this link http://neslist.is/application/how-to-apply/ and state that you are applying for this stipend in your cover letter.

This grant is made possible by the generous support of Minningarsjóður um hjónin frá Garði og Vindhæli

NES Listamiðstöð, Rannsóknasetur Háskóla Íslands á Norðurlandi vestra og Kántrýbær ætla á næstu misserum að standa fyrir kvikmyndasýningum á Skagaströnd.
Sýningarnar verða í Kántrýbæ og mun fyrsta myndin verða sýnd n.k. föstudagskvöld kl 21:30.

Heimildarmyndin Jón og séra Jón eftir Steinþór Birgisson.
Nánar um myndina:
Séra Jón Ísleifsson hefur verið sóknarprestur í Árnesi Ströndum í 12 ár. Hann lifir lífinu á sinn eigin sérstæða máta og af honum eru margar sögur bæði sannar og ósannar. Í kjölfar langvinnra deilna innan safnaðarins er svo komið að mikill meirihluti sóknarbarna hefur skrifað undir vantraust á séra Jón og lýst því yfir að þau vilji ekki að hann starfi lengur sem sóknarprestur í Árnesprestakalli. Er séra Jón óhæfur prestur? Eða eru aðrir kraftar að verki? Hvað sem því líður er séra Jón maður sem er staddur á miklum tímamótum.
Jón og séra Jón vann áhorfendaverðlaun Skjaldborgarhátíðarinnar í vor og hefur verið sýnd í kvikmyndahúsum við miklar vinsældir.

Miðaverð 1.250 kr

Also on display at the NES studios will be Conjunction a curatorial project by Annika Bastacky and Georgina Criddle.

The other opportunity you have in the winter is to see the northern lights. In order to see these light you need a dark and clear sky. The best time of year to see the aurora borealis is between October and March, believe it or not by April there is too much light in the night sky! Here is a picture to wet your artistic appetites of the auroras shinning over our Spákonufell mountain above Skagaströnd. Come to NES and check out our light.

Last Wednesday 14th September, the weather was really fine and fearing that it may be the last of the fine weather I went up the mountain with Joseph. We got a lift to the local golf club which faces the North Route up the mountain. The technical data in the leaflet is as follows:

Distance: 3.3km to the top

Duration: 2 hours to the top

Landscape: Steep but fairly easy

Elevation: 570m

Highest Point: 639m

So off we set without the leaflet with the map in it…after a wrong turn at the base and 2o minutes wandering and muttering on the flat we found the start of the route and passed a water tank…

A rather odd sight…we carried on although it was evident who was the old man out of the two us as I found myself watching Joseph open up a sizable gap on me yet he was still in sight.

He’d rest and wait so by the time I’d catch up, he’d had a good 10 minute rest!

It did start to get steeper at some points and there was still a little bit of snow up there from the previous 5 days. This is Joseph just before he started jumping up and down in the snow which apparently gave him an incredible sense of pleasure.

On we went at some points in the shade the ground was still a little frozen or a little slippery.

Getting closer to the top now…

The top is called Borgarhausinn its a huge mossy plain much larger than you imagine from just seeing the side from down below. Its a curious texture when you walk on it, yielding under your weight but springing back into place when you lift your foot.

We found the chest! Well alright not THE treasure chest but one with a guestbook where we both signed our names. I have numerous pictures from up at the top but somehow they don’t seem as good as being up there nor do they quite capture that sense of accomplishment that comes with walking up to the top.

To continue reading this post (and see more pictures) please see Hideki’s blog.

Pálínuboð fara þannig fram að það koma allir með eitthvað gott að borða og slegið er upp hlaðborði. Þið getið til dæmis komið með uppáhalds fiskréttin ykkar, pottrétt eða bara eitthvað sem ykkur langar að deila með okkur hinum.

Þetta er kjörið tækifæri til að hitta listamenn mánaðarins og kynna fyrir þeim lífið í litlum bæ á íslandi.

Endilega komið með alla fjölskylduna við verðum með eitthvað skemmtilegt að gera fyrir krakkana.

Nes artist residency invites the community of Skagaströnd to a potluck on Thursday, October 13th, at 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome.

This is a great opportunity to meet the artists and share about life in Skagaströnd and Iceland.

The project manager will work in Skagaströnd Iceland.

Qualifications:

• University education in art or related field
• Proficient English
• Experience with in art or cultural development.
• Excellent social skills.
• Good organization skills and ability to work independently.
• Initiative, interest and enthusiasm

Application deadline is 10^th of October. Please send in an application with information about education, experience and references to Nes Artist Residency Túnbraut 1-3, 545 Skagaströnd or to halldor@biopol.is.

Further information gives Halldór G. Ólafsson in telephone: +354-452 2977 or email: halldor@biopol.is

Endilega kíkið við milli 17 og 18 á túninu hjá Bjarmanesi, við minigolfvöllinn.

Nes listamiðstöð ehf. auglýsir 50% starf verkefnisstjóra fyrir listamiðstöðina laust til umsóknar.  Verkefnisstjóri annast daglegan rekstur listamiðstöðvarinnar, s.s. markaðs- og kynningarstarf, samskipti við listamenn og umsýslu með vinnustofum, gistirými, viðburðum og öðrum umsvifum.  Verkefnisstjóri starfar jafnframt með stjórn félagsins að stefnumörkun til áframhaldandi uppbyggingar listamiðstöðvarinnar.

Starfsstöð hans er á Skagaströnd.

Hæfniskröfur:

• Háskólamenntun á sviði lista og / eða menningar æskileg eða menntun sem nýtist til starfsins.
• Góð enskukunnátta
• Reynsla af verkefnum á sviði lista- og menningar.
• Framúrskarandi hæfni í mannlegum samskiptum.
• Sjálfstæð og skipuleg vinnubrögð.
• Frumkvæði, áhugi og drifkraftur.

Umsóknarfrestur er til og með 10. október nk. og gildir póststimpill/tölvupóstsending þann dag.  Umsóknir með greinargóðum upplýsingum um menntun, starfsreynslu og umsagnaraðila, berist Nes listamiðstöð ehf., Túnbraut 1 – 3, 545 Skagaströnd eða sendist á eftirfarandi netfang: halldor@biopol.is

Nes listamiðstöð ehf. var stofnuð árið 2008 og þar hafa að jafnaði dvalist um 100 listamenn árlega..

Nánari upplýsingar veitir Halldór G. Ólafsson, sími 452 2977, netfang: halldor@biopol.is

Listamenn mánaðarins eru:
Annika Bastacky | American | annikabastacky.wordpress.com
Ben Borden | American | myspace.com/solaryear
Dario Lazzaretto | Italian | dariolazzaretto.it
David Ertel | American | myspace.com/solaryear
Hideki Arichi | British | hidekiarichi.weebly.com
Ingeun Kim | South Korean | ingeunkim.com
Joseph Breikers | Australian | breikersacres.roxer.com
Lily Angotty | American | litlarottan.blogspot.com
Matthew Shelley | American | matthewgshelley.com
Mia Hochrein | German | miahochrein.de

]]> http://neslist.is/2011/09/opid-hus-i-dag-fimmtudaginn-22-september/feed/ 0 http://neslist.is/2011/09/open-studios-today-22nd-of-september/ http://neslist.is/2011/09/open-studios-today-22nd-of-september/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:39:05 +0000 admin http://neslist.is/?p=1211 Today there will be open studios at Nes Artist Residency. The September artist will invite guests to come and see what they have been working on over the last weeks. The studios will be open from 5pm to 8pm.

This months artist are:
Annika Bastacky | American | annikabastacky.wordpress.com
Ben Borden | American | myspace.com/solaryear
Dario Lazzaretto | Italian | dariolazzaretto.it
David Ertel | American | myspace.com/solaryear
Hideki Arichi | British | hidekiarichi.weebly.com
Ingeun Kim | South Korean | ingeunkim.com
Joseph Breikers | Australian | breikersacres.roxer.com
Lily Angotty | American | litlarottan.blogspot.com
Matthew Shelley | American | matthewgshelley.com
Mia Hochrein | German | miahochrein.de

The “artistic” collage technique appeared in the beginning of the 1900s, and got spread as a revolutionary tool both in art and political propaganda. From dadaism to punk, collage has been associated with conflicting systems of beliefs. More recently, collage has become synonym with post-modernism, as a pluralist and associative language that suits the continuous hybridization of contemporary culture. “Cutting”, “copying” and “pasting” from multi-layered interfaces is part of our daily life, and a condition to perception in general.

In this workshop we will be debating and practicing collage. Participants are encouraged to bring the tools and materials they want to work with. Besides practicing, we will take an overview of the history of collage, and see some of its contemporary expressions.

Antonio Sobral received a partial stipend from Nes Artist Residency to teach this workshop.

Listræn notkun á klippimyndum kom fram í byrjun tuttugustu aldar og dreifðist sem byltingarkennd tækni bæði í list og pólitískum áróðri. Frá dadaisma til pönks hafa klippimyndir verið tengdar stefnum sem takast á. Núna eru klippimyndir orðnar táknmynd fyrir post modernisma sem fjölhyggjustefna sem hentar blöndun í nýtíma menningu. “Klippa”, “afrita” og “líma” úr fjöllaga notendaviðmóti er hluti af okkar daglega lífi.

Á þessu námskeiði munum við skoða og æfa klippimyndagerð.
Þáttakendur eru hvattir til að koma með þau áhöld og efni sem þeir vilja nota við klippimyndagerðina, t.d. : skæri, pappírslím, dagblöð og tímarit til að klippa úr, pappír og karton.

Leiðbeinandi er Antonio Sobral frá Brasilíu

Námskeiðið fer fram í húsnæði Ness listamiðstöðvar að Fjörubraut 8, Skagaströnd.

Áhugasamir hafi samband í síma 8987877 eða olafia@neslist.is

Dagskrá:

17 til 19 Saga klippimynda / sýndar stuttmyndir / grunn hugtök
19 til 19:30 Matarhlé
19:30 til 22 Klippimyndagerð

Hér fyrir neðan eru tveir linkar á síður sem sýna klippimyndir.

http://butdoesitfloat.com/index/filter/collage

http://almostvelvet.com/category/collages/

Hér fyrir neðan má sjá nokkrar myndir frá því í gær.

Yesterday the July artist opened the studios for the public. There was a good turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy the show. Here above are a few pictures that where taken yesterday.

Í dag fimmtudaginn 21. júlí opna listamenn mánaðarins vinnustofur sínar og bjóða Skagstrendingum og nærsveitungum að kíkja í heimsókn í listamiðstöðina.

Tólf listamenn hafa dvalið á Skagaströnd í júlí og koma þau frá fjórum heimsálfum. Mikið er að stórum og flottum verkum þennan mánuð eins og oft áður, sjón er sögu ríkari.

- Antonio Sobral – Brasilía - Chrissy Baucum – Bandaríkin - Christopher Matthew Luther – Bandaríkin - Gordon Sasaki – Bandaríkin - Hilary Wilder – Bandaríkin - Knut Sennekamp – Þýskaland - Mark Chariker – Bandaríkin - MinHae Lee – Kórea - Shane Finan – Írland - Siobhan Feehan – Bandaríkin - Sólveig Birna Stefánsdóttir – Ísland - Wendy Kawabata – Bandaríkin -

Today Thursday the 21st of July this months artists will open up their studios and invite the locals to come and see what they have been working on for the last month.

Twelve artist have stayed at Nes for the last month and the come from four continents.

- Antonio Sobral – Brazil - Chrissy Baucum – USA - Christopher Matthew Luther – USA - Gordon Sasaki – USA - Hilary Wilder – USA - Knut Sennekamp – Germany - Mark Chariker – USA - MinHae Lee – Kórea - Shane Finan – Ireland - Siobhan Feehan – USA -
Sólveig Birna Stefánsdóttir – Iceland - Wendy Kawabata – USA -

The kids that have been participating in the Playgrounds on fire workshop with Jill Connell invited their friends and family for a performance yesterday. They started by running into the room screaming then the continued exploring what they could get away with in terms of scaring the adults. The pictures speak for them selves.

Logandi Leikvellir
Fimmtudaginn 30. júní
H59 – Hólanes frystihúsið matsalur 3. hæð
klukkan 19:00 – 19:30
Gefið ykkur á vald heims barnanna

Allir velkomnir

This week kids ages 6 to 12 have been working with the play write  Jill Connell on a project called Playgrounds on fire. Jill has led the children in work where they have had to think about the different roles of children and grownups and why kids aren’t allowed to do some things. Today Thursday 30th of June they are going to do a performance based on this work.

Playgrounds of fire
Thursday 30th of June
H59 – Hólanes former fish factory  next to the pool 3rd floor
between 7 and 7:30 pm
Surrender to the world of children

Everyone is welcome

Núna er júlí rétt handan við hornið og við erum í óða önn að undirbúa komu listamanna júlímánaðar. Við eigum von á 12 listamönnum ásamt 3 fjölskyldumeðlimum. Við vonum innilega að Skagstrendingar taki vel á móti þessum nýju íbúum og að þau njóti dvalarinnar. Ekki væri nú verra ef þau kæmu með smá sumar með sér.

Here are a few photographs from the visit taken by Magnús B. Jónsson the Mayor of Skagaströnd:

Breski sendiherrann á Íslandi, Ian Witting, kom í heimsókn til Skagastrandar í síðustu viku. Við fengum þann heiður að taka á móti honum í listamiðstöðinn og fræða hann um starfið sem fer fram þar. Ian var mjög áhugasamur um listamiðstöðinna og tók sér góðan tíma í að skoða listaverkinn og spjalla við listamennina.

Myndirnar hér að ofan tók Magnús. B. Jónsson, Sveitarstjóri Skagastrandar.

Námskeiðið kallar hún “Playgrounds on fire” eða lognandi leikvellir.

Jill mun vinna með krökkunum í hugmyndavinnu og spuna þar sem þau koma með hugmyndir um hvernig væri best að hræða hóp af fullorðnu fólki. Hluti að verkefninu lýtur að þáttöku barna í lýðræði og hvernig þeim gengur að fá áheyrn þeirra fullorðnu.

Námskeiðið verður milli klukkan 16 og 18 alla næstu viku.

Allir krakkar sem vilja taka þátt eru hvattir til að mæta í listamiðstöðina á mánudaginn 27.júní klukkan 16.

Wanted: Children in Skagaströnd aged 6 – 12

for

Playgrounds on Fire

Playgrounds on Fire is a presentation that will be created collaboratively with children in Skagaströnd, who are posed the question: how would you scare a room full of adults?

As a playwright and theatre creator, Jill will spend time working with the young people of Skagaströnd to develop Playgrounds on Fire—an opportunity for the children to showcase what they enjoy doing best: freaking out adults. Aspects of the presentation will also address the rights of children to engage democratically.

The adults of Skagaströnd will be invited to a final presentation of Playgrounds on Fire on Friday, July 1st—an experience that immerses adults into the world of children, asking them to surrender control and allow the children to run the show.

YOUNG PEOPLE:

To participate in Playgrounds on Fire, just show up!

Monday, June 27th – Friday, July 1st.

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM every day.

Meet at the Nes Artist Studio.

Hér gefur að líta nokkrar myndir frá opnu húsi Ness listamiðstöðvar sem var haldið í gær undir yfirskriftinni “Windblown” eða “Vindblásinn”

Adrian Hatfield – Bandaríkin – USA
Evelin Rupschus – Þýskaland – Germany
Min Hae Lee – Suður Kórea – South Korea
Dieter Wagner – Þýskaland – Germany
Emily Browne – Bandaríkin – USA
Candice Chu – Bandaríkin – USA
Karen Voltz – Bandaríkin – USA
Evan Larson – Bandaríkin – USA
Naomi Falk – Bandaríkin – USA
Ellie Brown – Bandaríkin – USA
Jill Connell – Kanada – Kanada
Shane Finan – Írland – Ireland

Spákonufell means in english “The Fortune Teller’s Mountain” or “Prophetess Mountain.”  The story goes that the founder of Skagaströnd was Þórdís spákona, a fortune teller and prophetess who lived on a farm at the foothill of the mountain.  She was considered a very wise and intelligent woman, and is described in several Icelandic sagas as a witch with magical powers and the ability to see the future.

Every day, Þórdís spákona would leave her farm and trek up to the mountain, where she would comb her hair with a special gold comb.  Near the end of her life, when she could feel her death approaching, she hid a chest filled with the all treasures and fortune she accumulated throughout her life somewhere in the mountain.  She put a spell on the chest so that the only person who could find it would be a woman who was never baptized under any religion, and who had never learned the words or dogma of any God.  No such woman has ever lived in Iceland, and so the treasure has never been found.

Photos by Sara Rut Fannarsdóttir

Nokkrir af listamönnum Ness ákváðu að ganga á Spákonufellið í gær undir leiðsögn Söru Rutar sem er sumarstarfsmaður hjá okkur.

Á seinni hluta 10. aldar bjó Þórdís spákona á bænum Spákonufell, sem er nú innan bæjarmarka Skagastrandar. Getið er um hana í mörgum fornsögum og sagt að hún hafi verið fjölkunnug. Segir frá henni í Kormákssögu og Vatndælasögu og auk þess í þjóðsögum.

Skemmtilegust er þó sagan af auðæfum Þórdísar sem hún náði að fela í kistu og koma fyrir á klettasyllu í Spákonufellsborg. Hún sagði: „að sú kona skyldir eignast kistuna og öll þau auðæfi sem í henni væru, sem væri svo uppalin, að hún væri hvorki skírð í nafni heilagrar þrenningar, né nokkur góður guðstitill kenndur, og mundu þá gripirnir liggja lausir fyrir henni, og hún eiga hægt með að ljúka kistunni upp. En öllum öðrum skyldi sýnast kistan klettur einn og bergsnagi fram úr, þar sem lykillinn væri, og svo lítur hún út enn í dag.“ Fáum sögum fer af gullinu og hefur líklega enginn náð henni enda skilyrði sjálfrar spákonunnar ansi ströng og jafnvel hugsanlegt að þau hafi eitthvað bjagast í meðförum kynslóða á tíu öldum og því svari gullkistan ekki lengur nokkru áreiti. Spákonufellsborg er þó ákaflega fallegt fjall og skemmtilegt uppgöngu.

Last Tuesday we had a potluck at the studios and as usual there was lot of good food in even better company.

We try to have a potluck at least once a month here at Nes.

“A potluck is a gathering of people where each person or group of people contributes a dish of food to be shared among the group.

The word pot-luck appears in 16th century England, in the work of Thomas Nashe, and was there used to mean “food provided for an unexpected or uninvited guest, the luck of the pot”. The sense “communal meal, where guests bring their own food”, appears to have originated in the late 19th century or early 20th century US, particularly in the Western United States, either by influence from potlatch or possibly by extension of traditional sense of “luck of the pot”.

To the Irish, a potluck was a meal with no particular menu. Everyone participating brought a dish for all to share. The term comes from a time when groups of Irish women would gather together and cook dinner. They only had one pot so they cooked the meal together with whatever ingredients they happened to have that day.” from Wikipedia.org

We find that hosting a potluck is a perfect way to introduce the artists to some of the locals. It is important for the artist to know some friendly faces around town.

Photos by Sara Rut Fannarsdóttir

Síðasta þriðjudag héldum við okkar mánaðarlega Pálínuboð í listamiðstöðinni. Pálínuboðin fara þannig fram að það koma allir með eitthvað gott að borða og við sláum upp flottu hlaðborði og borðum saman.

Í þessum boðum bjóðum við stjórn listamiðstöðvarinnar og velunnurum að koma og hitta listamenn mánaðarins. Það hefur gefist mjög vel að kynna listamennina fyrir heimamönnum þannig að þeir þekki að minnsta kosti nokkur andlit í bænum.

Fyrirmyndin er þekkt víða um heim og raunar einnig hér á Íslandi. Listamönnum er einfaldlega boðið að sækja um aðstöðu gegn gjaldi. Dvalartíminn hefur verið að lágmarki í einn mánuður en  fjölmargir hafa verið lengur og dæmi eru um að listmenn hafi verið hér í sex mánuði. Rétt um 285 listmenn hafa dvalið þennan tíma á Skagaströnd. Meðaldvalartíminn er um einn og hálfur mánuður.

Þess má líka geta að sumir hafa komið með fjölskyldur sínar og jafnvel eru dæmi um að barn listamanna hafi stundað nám sitt í Höfðaskóla á Skagaströnd. Makar og börn eru ekki með í ofangreindri tölu.

Dvöl listamanna á Skagaströnd hefur þegar reynst mikil lyftistöng fyrir samfélagið enda vilja listamennirnir fúslega leggja sitt af mörkum til að efla menningarlífið. Nefna má viðburði eins og listsýningar, örnámskeið, fyrirlestrahald og samstarf við skóla og stofnanir bæjarins.

Fjölmargt má nefna: Mánaðarlega hefur verið efnt til svokallaðra opinna húsa og bæjarbúum þá gefin kostur á að heimsækja listamiðstöðina. Þeir hafa tekið á móti fólki og kynntu þeim list sína og fluttu fyrirlestra eða tóku fólk tali í smærri hópum og svöruðu spurningum.

Aðsóknin hefur verið mismunandi eða allt frá 20 til um 160 manns. Listmennirnir hafa verið einkar duglegir og áhugasamir um að bjóða upp á vinnusmiðjur fyrir krakkana í bænum. Nefna má að í vor var öllum krökkum í 3. til 8. bekk boðið að koma á hverjum mánudegi til að vinna lítil verkefni með listamönnunum. Einnig voru haldin námskeið fyrir krakka í grímugerð, listmálun, skúlptúrgerð, gerð „stop motion“ myndbanda og vatnslitamálun svo eitthvað sé nefnt.

Einnig hefur listamiðstöðin „lánað“ listamenn „yfir fjallið“. T.d. tóku þrír listamenn þátt í að kenna bókband, ljósmyndun og dans á þemadögum Fjölbrautaskóla Norðurlands vestra síðastliðið vor.

Atvinnudansari sem dvaldi hjá Nesi síðastliðið vor tók þátt í kántrýdönsum með Kántrýdansahópnum Sylgjunum. Það varð svo til þess að hún samdi dans fyrir hópinn og þegar hann tók þátt í keppni í Reykjavík í maí 2010 var hann hluti af dagskránni.

Listamenn hafa verið duglegir að standa fyrir gjörningum þar má nefna, „Bláa útgáfan“ gjörningur með ljósi og lyfturum eftir Anna Grunemann „drawing a straight line“ gjörningur í samvinnu nemendur grunnskólans eftir Aimée Xenou og „Survey of sound“ hljóðgjörningur í Hólaneskirkju eftir Tim Bruniges og Sarah Mosca.

Haldnar voru nokkrar sýningar á síðasta ári. Fyrst ber að nefna „After works“ í kjallaranum á Bjarmanesi á Kántrýdögum, þar sýndu þeir Jude Griebel og Jared Betts málverk sín.

Í fyrra var efnt til sýningarinnar „Inspired by Skagaströnd“ í Frystinum Gallerí á Kántrýdögum. Listamiðstöðin hafði biðlað til þeirra listamanna sem höfðu dvalið á Skagatrönd og fengið marga þeirra til að senda að senda listaverk á sýninguna. Fjölmörg verk bárust og gáfu flestir listamennirnir Sveitafélaginu Skagaströnd verkin. Aimée Xenou setti svo nú í febrúar mánuði upp skemmtilega sýningu í kjallaranum á Bjarmanes undir heitinu „Það er“.

Á haustdögum dvöldu hjá Nesi tvær þýskar listakonur sem komu í gegnum samvinnuverkefni við Künstlerhaus Lukas í Þýskalandi. Þær stóðu fyrir „Swap shop“, eins konar skiptimarkaði og bauðst heimamönnum að koma og skipta við þær á einhverju heimagerðu og listaverki eftir þær. Vakti þetta mikinn áhuga bæjarbúa.

Í desember kom listakona frá Bandaríkjunum til þess eins að kenna námskeið í hefðbundinni japanskri pappírsgerð. Pappírgerðarnámskeiðið var einn af fjölmörgu viðburðum sem listakonan Aimée Xenou stóð fyrir á meðan dvöl hennar stóð. Bróðir hennar kom sérstaklega til að spila á orgelið í kirkjunni meðan á gjörningi stóð en í honum tóku einnig þátt stúlkur sem hafa verið að læra dans hjá heimamanninum Andreu Kasper hér í vetur. Foreldrar Aimée komu einnig og tóku þátt í seinni hluta gjörningsins „Innflutningur á fjölskyldu“ þar sem lesin voru brot úr bréfum frá móður Aimée. Mesta athygli vöktu þó kökurnar, en þær mæðgur bökuðu eina smáköku fyrir hvern og einn bæjarbúa og þær voru í ofanálag merktar íbúanum. Íbúar þurftu svo að hafa fyrir því að finna kökuna á kökuborði í listamiðstöðinni.

Ævintýrasmiðjan ber heitið Eyja ímyndunaraflsins.

Krakkarnir munu fá tækifæri til þess að búa til eyju eftir eigin höfði. Við hvetjum þau til að mæta með hluti eða úrklippur sem þau vilja að séu á eyjunni.

Námskeiðið fer fram í Nesi listamiðstöð að Fjörubraut 8 milli klukkan 15 til 17.

Imagination Island – A Drawing Adventure Workshop! for kids ages 6 to 12.
Date: Thursday 2nd of June 2011
Time: 3 pm
Place: Nes studios
Teacher: Candice Chu