The tenth international biennial Sequences will be held in October 2021. Sequences is the progeny of the creative powers which abound in this country and has now established itself as an important factor in the development of art in Iceland. Each time, the selected curators are energetic and progressive, and this year they are artist Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir and composer Þráinn Hjálmarsson.
Sequences’ subtitle, “real time art festival”, is a reference to the festival’s original emphasis on real-time and time-based media.
“This year, the festival focuses on man-made time indicators in our environment, for example how we can “read” the zeitgeist in our everyday actions, and by prevailing ideas in society at any given time. Social ideas and disposition are everchanging, just like the societies themselves. The flow of time is marked by the renewal and transformation of these ideas. By getting ideas in society moving, you get the time moving,”
The festival’s mainstay is a diverse and inter-disciplinary programme of exhibitions and happenings, with works by 27 Icelandic and international artists of different backgrounds; choreographers, poets, composers, designers, and artists. The festival also stretches across the city; from the Marshall House at Grandi, which houses both The Living Art Museum and Kling&Bang, to Open, Flæði, Bíó Paradís and Ásmundarsalur.
The festival’s honorary artist is Elísabet Jökulsdóttir (b. 1958), poet and author, but she is a unique and long-lasting voice in Icelandic culture.
“At all times, Elísabet’s works act as a barometer on society. She is perpetual and generous in her discussion about humane behaviour and with her actions and word craft, she spins threads between different art forms. She has paved the way for discussion about mental health and with her stories and her dialogue with the society, she enables us to enlarge our souls and reflect ourselves in the spectrum of common emotions. She constantly reminds us of the magic,”
Honorary artists of previous festivals are Kristinn G. Harðarson (2019), Joan Jonas (2017), Carolee Schneemann (2015), Grétar Reynisson (2013), Hannes Lárusson (2011), Magnús Pálsson (2009) and Rúrí (2008).