Please note that Hafnarborg will be closed for installation from September 4th until September 14th. We would then like to invite you to the opening of our new exhibitions on Thursday September 14th at 8 p.m. Together we will explore Landscape for the Chosen Ones, Hafnarborg’s Autumn Exhibition 2023, curated by Eva Lín Vilhjálmsdóttir and Odda Júlía Snorradóttir, but this will be the thirteenth installation in Hafnarborg’s Autumn Exhibition Series, having been selected from proposals submitted by curators during an open call last year.

At Sindri Ploder’s exhibition, If I Were a Monster, in Hafnarborg’s lower gallery, guests will then enter into the artist’s own world of striking visuals, but earlier this year Sindri was named the artist of the festival Art Without Borders 2023. The exhibition is curated by Íris Stefanía Skúladóttir, artistic director of Art Without Borders.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this and hope to see you at the opening.

September 1st marks the beginning of a new concert season at Hafnarborg, featuring a host of outstanding musicians, as well as promising young performers. The Afternoon Concert series enters its fourth season with a concert by Kjalar Martinsson Kollmar next Friday at 6 p.m. and in the following week we welcome you to the first Midday Concert of the autumn, but the concert series has been part of the Hafnarborg programme since 2003, under the direction of pianist Antonía Hevesi. Later this autumn, we also invite you to attend a performance of contemporary music in the concert series Phonemes, dedicated to original compositions of the 20th and 21st century.

Concerts Autumn/Winter 2023

September 1st at 6 p.m.
Afternoon Concert
Kjalar Martinsson Kollmar and Band

September 5th at 12 p.m.
Midday Concert
Ívar Helgason

October 3rd at 12 p.m.
Midday Concert
Gissur Páll Gissurarson

October 8th at 8 p.m.
Phonemes: Remembrance
Berglind María Tómasdóttir and Júlía Mogensen

October 13th at 6 p.m. (new date)
Afternoon Concert
Hrafnhildur Magnea Ingólfsdóttir and Band

November 7th at 12 p.m.
Midday Concert
Bryndís Guðjónsdóttir

November 10th at 6 p.m.
Afternoon Concert
Los Bomboneros

December 5th at 12 p.m.
Midday Concert
Diddú

December 8th at 6 p.m.
Afternoon Concert
Kristjana Stefáns and Band

As in previous years, curators are invited to submit proposals for next year’s Autumn Exhibition at Hafnarborg. The Autumn Exhibition Series began in 2011 and since then thirteen exhibitions have been selected for production as part of the series, from numerous submissions by curators of diverse backgrounds and experience. This year’s Autumn Exhibition, Landscape for the Chosen Ones, which is curated by Eva Lín Vilhjálmsdóttir and Odda Júlía Snorradóttir and set to open on September 14th, was selected by the same method, from the proposals submitted last year.

By calling for proposals, the objective is to collaborate with different curators, who submit compelling proposals for an exhibition, as well as creating a platform for emerging curators to present their ideas. For this reason, curators who are new to the field are encouraged to send in their proposals. In years past, the programme has proven its worth, as it has produced diverse and thought-provoking exhibitions, which have been well received all around.

The call is for group exhibitions connecting artists or artworks through their subject matter, artistic method and/or other ideas, but exhibitions analysing or focusing on a specific aspect of one artist’s work will also be considered. Proposals for exhibitions of contemporary artists’ works or exhibitions entailing historical analysis are welcome as well. The Director and Art Council of Hafnarborg will review the proposals and select the winning proposal.

Please note that the deadline to submit proposals is until midnight on Sunday September 17th.

Applications are only accepted via email at [email protected] (see below).

Application process

The application process is divided into two parts and we ask applicants to read all details about the two-part process and required materials carefully.

Part 1

For the first part of the application process, we request the following information:

• Description of the project with an emphasis on the idea underlying the exhibition (1000 words maximum).
• CV of the curator(s).
• Short CV of the participating artist(s), as well as others that might become part of the exhibition project.

Please provide as detailed a description as possible, while respecting the maximum word count. We will also accept illustrative material that is descriptive for the project, though this is not required. Applicants are encouraged to acquaint themselves with Hafnarborg’s layout and spaces before submitting their proposals. The Art Council of Hafnarborg, alongside the Director, will review all proposals and select those that will move on to the second part of the application process.

Part 2

The curators, whose proposals are selected for further review, will be invited to present their ideas and provide additional materials, such as exhibition catalogues, illustrative material or videos, as well as working on a realistic budget plan for the project. The budget plan for the exhibition, including its preparation, is expected to be in line with the museum’s financial plan, otherwise seeking special grants to fund the project.

When reviewing the proposals, the following will be taken into special consideration:

• Selection of artists.
• Whether the exhibition introduces an innovative view of the arts, for example in relation to its context and/or media.
• Whether the exhibition includes new or older works, or even a mixture of both.
• Whether the exhibition has a special relevance to Hafnarborg, for example to its collection, its surroundings, the town of Hafnarfjörður etc.
• Whether the exhibition makes use of Hafnarborg’s exhibition space in a creative way.
• The curators’ experience and CV.
• Suggestions for events in connection with the exhibition (curatorial talks, artist talks, seminars etc.).
• Ideas for a possible publication.
• That the budget of the project is within reasonable limits (a more precise cost assessment will take place in the latter part of the process).

Sketches of Hafnarborg’s floor plan can be found here. These are intended to be used as a guide, as it is not required that the curators design the exhibition to fit the space in strict terms.

Please send all proposals via email to [email protected], with the subject “Autumn Exhibition 2024”. In response, we will send a message confirming that we have received the proposal, but we urge you to contact us at (354) 585 5790, if you do not receive said confirmation. Finally, all applicants will be kept informed about the status of their proposals, in due course. All results will be sent via email.

Further information is provided by the office of Hafnarborg at (354) 585 5790.

Please note that Hafnarborg will be closed on Monday July 24th due to necessary work on the drainage system of the building. We apologise for the inconvenience and look forward to welcoming you at the museum when this work is finished.

The museum will be open again as usual from Wednesday July 26th.

Please note that the Hafnarborg office will be partly closed from July 10th until August 11th for summer vacations.

In the meantime, we kindly ask you to email us at [email protected].

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Wishing you all a great summer,
The staff of Hafnarborg

From its inception, The Hafnarborg Songfest has offered a master class for advanced singers. This year, the class takes place from June 19th until the 22nd, filling the museum with music and song for its duration. The class is held in Hafnarborg’s main gallery, starting in the morning and ending in the afternoon, so guests of the museum will be able to enjoy the singing practice during their visit of the current exhibitions. At the end of the course, the participants will perform at a special concert on Thursday June 22nd at 8 p.m. as part of The Songfest. This time, the instructor is renowned singer Kristinn Sigmundsson, with the support of pianist Matthildur Anna Gísladóttir, who will also accompany the singers at the concert.

For more information about The Hafnarborg Songfest, please visit the offical website at www.songhatid.com.

On this day 40 year ago, June 1st 1083, husband and wife Sverrir Magnússon and Ingibjörg Sigurjónsdóttir gifted the town of Hafnarfjörður with their house at Strandgata 34, including their extensive art collection, establishing Hafnarborg – the Hafnarfjörður Centre of Culture and Fine Art.

For decades, the couple had run the Hafnarfjörður Pharmacy in the building that now houses the museum, which was also their home, but together they had amassed a large art collection and their wish was that both the house and the collection would pass onto the community, in the hopes of fostering the cultural landscape of Hafnarfjörður and providing a space for art exhibitions, concerts and related events.

To commemorate this, we invite guests to take a peak behind the scenes at the museum tomorrow, Friday evening, as we work on the installation of our new exhibitions and offer insights into the process of making an exhibition.

So feel free to join us for birthday cake, coffee and light drinks.

Everyone welcome.

This summer, Hafnarborg will offer workshops for children, 6–12 years old, as in previous years. The groups will go on field trips in Hafnarfjörður and basic techniques of art will be introduced by exploring the environment, the museum’s exhibitions, creative work and play. The children will work on projects in different media – drawing, painting and moulding – with the aim of developing visual focus and inspiring creative thought and personal expression.

Three 5-day workshops will be available for ages 6–9 and 10–12. The workshop starting June 26th will then bring in elements of music to the creative process, in connection with The Hafnarborg Songfest. At the end of this workshop, the children will participate in a family concert, as part of the festival’s programme, taking place on Friday June 30th at 5 p.m.

The instructor of the visual arts workshops will be Unnur Mjöll S. Leifsdóttir and the instructor of the music workshop will be Björg Ragnheiður Pálsdóttir.

The following summer workshops are available:

June 12th–June 16th
6–9 years old: 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
10–12 years old: 1–4 p.m.

June 19th–June 23rd
6–9 years old: 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
10–12 years old: 1–4 p.m.

June 276h–June 30th
6–9 years old: 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
10–12 years old: 1–4 p.m.

The fee for the 5-day workshop is 15,400 ISK. Please note that a sibling discount is available: full price for the first child, with a 50% discount for each additional sibling. Kindly inform us of any special needs or requirements.

Note that there is limited availability for the summer workshops.

Registration is now open via the registration network Vala. For further information, please call (354) 585 5790 or send an email to [email protected].

On May 2nd, the last Midday Concert of the season took place in Hafnarborg, but the concert series has now been part of the Hafnarborg programme for twenty years.

We thank Valgerður Guðnadóttir for singing for us and our guests and we also thank pianist Antonía Hevesi for her work and dedication, but Antonía has been the artistic direction of the concert series from its inception.

We would also like to thank everyone who has performed at the concerts this season, as well as those who have made the concert series what it is for the past couple of decades, enriching the culture scene in Hafnarfjörður, by offering a free midday concert for all lovers of music.

We look forward to welcoming you at Hafnarborg in autumn when we begin the new season of Midday Concerts.

The Easter season is almost upon us and the staff of Hafnarborg therefore wishes the friends and supporters of the museum a very happy Easter. Opening hours during the holidays are as follows:

Maundy Thursday April 6th
Open 12 p.m.–5 p.m.

Good Friday April 7th
Closed

Holy Saturday April 8th
Open 12 p.m.–5 p.m.

Easter Sunday April 9th
Closed

Easter Monday April 10th
Open 12 p.m.–5 p.m.

We would also like to take the occasion to invite you to our newly opened exhibitions. First, we have the exhibition Uncanny Virtuality, curated by Daría Sól Andrews and presenting works by Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir, Meriem Bennani, María Guðjohnsen, Bita Razavi, Helena Margrét Jónsdóttir and Inari Sandell. In Hafnarborg’s lower gallery, on the other hand, we have the exhibition Written Images by Jóhann S. Vilhjálmsson and curated by Erling T. V. Klingenberg and Jón Proppé.

Free entry – everyone welcome.