The Reykjavik Arts Festival is one of the oldest and most respected arts festivals in Northern Europe, founded in 1970 at the instigation of renowned pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. The Festival takes place in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, with occasional events also held beyond the borders of the city. Initially the Festival was held biannually, becoming an annual from 2004.

The purpose of the Festival is to promote Icelandic and international culture in all fields of art. The programme therefore showcases a vast range of concerts and performances in the realms of theatre, dance and opera, along with an extensive exhibition program in the visual arts. The focus on Icelandic culture, both past and present, is made clear through the display of new and unexpected dimensions in the work of Icelandic artists, presented alongside and occasionally in collaboration with many outstanding international artists and performers.

In 2010, the Reykjavik Arts Festival focused on the medium of photography. This focus aimed to reflect the importance of the photograph in the arts, and in today’s culture through its capacity to record reality, and aid all forms of communication. The Festival presented twenty exhibitions of photography in various galleries and museums along with a programme of public events.

Most outstanding projects in recent years:

2006, Mariam Makeba; 2007, Goran Bregovic, Bryn Terfel, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Royal De Luxe; 2008, Wayne Shorter, îlafur El’asson, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Brian Eno and Marina Abramovic; 2009, Deborah Voigt and Lhasa de Sela; 2010, Amadou&Mariam, Leif Ove Andsnes, David Byrne and Cindy Sherman.

The Festival itself is comprised of events, performances, book readings and similar events all open to the public. Each year, the Reykjavik Arts Festival makes an award to an outstanding cultural project in Iceland. The aim of the award is to stimulate cultural activity, to offer every Icelander an opportunity to enjoy international arts events, and to increase culture-related tourism.

The Reykjavik Arts Festival does not own any spaces. It uses the theatres, music halls, churches, art spaces and other unconventional spaces in Reykjavik for its events. The capacity of these venues varies accordingly, from 25 to 970 seats. With the new concert hall the Festival will be able to use a hall with a capacity of 1800 seats. Art exhibition spaces, churches, theatres, opera houses, music halls, studios and the city streets. The Festival has also used more experimental venues, such as musicians’ and writers’ living rooms.