Ávarp við opnun sýningar Steingríms Eyfjörð á Feneyjatvíæringnum 2007
Address by
Mr Guðni Bragason, Minister and Chargé d´Affaires,
Embassy of Iceland, Rome,
At the Icelandic Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 7th June 2007,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to address this esteemed gathering on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Ms Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, on the occasion of the opening of an the exhibition of works by the artist Steingrímur Eyfjörð, at the Icelandic Pavilion, Palazzo Bianchi Michiel.
Steingrímur Eyfjörð has for years been one of the most outstanding artists in Iceland, and he is a worthy successor to the many artists from our country who have exhibited at the Venice Biennale, such as the painter Kristján Davíðsson and the video artist Steina Vasulka, to name but few. You will find this exhibition, titled “The Golden Plover Has Arrived”, a fascinating modern work of art, but at the same time a work with solid roots in traditional Icelandic culture and nature. But it is not mine to interpret the exhibition. The artist is present and is happy to answer all your questions later on.
Today, we also would like to provide you with information on Icelandic culture and society in general. Iceland is a country with a rich cultural heritage, going back more than one millennium. Actually, at the same time as the first inhabitants were settling on the Venice islands in the lagoon, our ancestors were launching their longships for the difficult voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in Iceland. We have a unique language which we try to preserve intact in the modern world of mass media and globalization. Our literary tradition stretches from the Medieval Saga Literature to modern times. Needless to say, the artist, Steingrímur Eyfjörð, has made a use of a poem from the Romantic period for the title of this exhibition.
Art, however, has much shorter history in our country, a little more that one century. It could therefore come as a surprise to some that Iceland, and its capital, Reykjavík, has today a very active modern art scene, demonstrated by the annual Reykjavík Arts Festival. This could be explained by the fact that Iceland is an open society, which welcomes people from other countries and cultures, and encourages Icelandic artists and intellectuals to seek knowledge abroad. Icelandic artists have been influenced by and been part of most major art movements in the last decades, and I believe that Icelandic artists can contribute valuable ideas and works to the international art world.
I know this from my own experience in the countries where I have served. It did therefore not come as a surprise to me to learn of the great interest our hosts, the Italians, have for Icelandic art, literature, music and films. And nota bene, this interest encompasses not only popular musicians and artists. I was for example impressed by the interest shown at a screening in Rome few weeks ago of a documentary on the Icelandic artist and filmmaker Róska who worked for three decades in Italy and added, as well, Icelandic strokes to the colourful Italian political life.
The Icelandic Foreign Service plays an important part in promoting art and culture abroad. As a matter of fact, it is one of the three main tasks, according to the Laws on the Foreign Service, the two other being foreign policy and trade relations. We therefore look at cultural policy as an integral part of foreign policy and trade promotion.
For years our Embassies have assisted Icelandic artists in their endeavours abroad and organized exhibitions and cultural festivals. Furthermore, the Foreign Ministry has displayed art in Embassy residences and offices. In some cities, such as in Berlin and Copenhagen, our Embassies have now the possibility to exhibit art in adjacent exhibition spaces. This has been done in good collaboration with many other institutions, such as the Ministry for Culture and Education, which is the host to the Icelandic exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
The positive reaction to Icelandic art abroad has encouraged us to establish an official promotion office for Icelandic contemporary art, the so-called Centre for Icelandic Art, of which Dr Christian Schoen is the Director. The Foreign Ministry has a representative on the board of Centre and intends to put special effort into promoting contemporary art through its Embassies in the future.
I find it appropriate that the city of Venice is the host to this international arts festival. The city´s commercial and seafaring history and artistic splendour demonstrate clearly the close link between commerce and art. In Iceland, we are very much aware of this important link, since our cultural life began to flourish parallel to increased foreign trade and easing of trade restrictions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I hope that this exhibition will give you inspiration, information and some eye-opening moments, and encourage you to venture into the field of Icelandic art and culture.
Present at this event are, beside the artist, the Director of Centre for Icelandic Art, Dr Christian Schoen, and Ms Hanna Styrmisdóttir, the Curator of the exhibition. We are all happy to answer your inquiries.
Thank you.
