Polish and Icelandic Artists Meet in East Iceland

Why this is here: The clay workshops led by Wiola Ujazdowska were fully booked the day after they were advertised, showing immediate interest in the festival’s hands-on activities.

Wiola Ujazdowska and Ragnhildur Ásvaldsdóttur are organizing the VOR/WIOSNA festival in Egilsstaðir, Iceland. The festival centers around storytelling through various art forms—image, movement, sound, and crafts—and emphasizes the exchange of experiences between people. This year’s event specifically focuses on creating a platform for Polish voices within an Icelandic context, recognizing Iceland’s strong oral tradition dating back to its settlement.

The festival, held at Sláturhúsið, will feature a Woven Ground exhibit by Martyna Bogaczyk, clay workshops led by Ujazdowska, and a movement workshop by Patrycja Bączek. Attendees can also view the film Paweł and Wawel by Krzysztof Kaczmarek, followed by discussion, and see two solo performances directed by Hallveiga Eiríksdóttir.

Organizers scheduled the festival around the May 15 to 17 dates to ensure invited artists could attend, even accommodating potential voters with information on advance voting. Despite the local elections falling on one day of the festival, the programming remained unchanged, and the work of bringing people together continues.