Fish Factory - Creative Centre of Stöðvarfjörður, East Iceland This is an ongoing collaborative and community project. We run a Residency Program.
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The Creative Centre of Stöðvarfjörður was established in 2011 when a group of people acquired the abandoned Fish Factory of the village, with the aim of transforming it into a thriving place of creativity, music and craftmanship. Our actions and aims are based on sustainable principles and alternative methods. The Centre is located in Stöðvarfjörður, a remote village in the East fjords of Iceland
. The Residency is multi-disciplinary and open for most creative directions. The purpose of the program is to provide emerging and established artists, creatives, designers and progressive thinkers a port for free expression. We offer access to a range of studios and work facilities, and a place to meet with other creative people in a small collaborative community. For more info send us a line at [email protected]
We are currently building a professional Analog and Digital Recording Studio called Studio Silo in the centre. The studio is designed by John H. Brandt and will be open to all Musicians and Sound Artist. For more info, pictures and videos visit: www.facebook.com/studiosiloinhere
The centre has a large Concert Hall and we frequently throw concerts there with Icelandic and International Musicians. If you are interested in performing in our Hall you can send us a line at [email protected]. Many of our Residency Artist, Interns and Volunteers have performed there during their stay.
We’d love to offer you a 10% discount for our final residency of 2024. November’s darker days and cozy atmosphere are perfect for focused creative work. If you have a project to dive into, this is an ideal time to join us. Plus, you’ll have the chance to witness the beautiful Northern Lights. This is the last opportunity before prices increase in 2025!
Irene Hoppenberg is a sculptor from Berlin, Germany. She received her Master at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Her works were presented in multiple exhibitions in Europe, USA, South-Korea, Taiwan and Australia.
I experimented with kites made of paper and bamboo during my stay at the Fish Factory, which offered me an ideal environment to work on my project. The kites form a colourful contrast in the Icelandic landscape. Their shapes and patterns refer to the style of the German Bauhaus.
I loved to stay in the green studio with its stunning view to the Fjord and the Mountains. It was inspiring even with rain, clouds, and fog. From there we could even once watch the whales from very close, it was so exciting.
Thanks to all the artists who performed the kites with me and to all the photographers who took the pictures. It was wonderful to share this moment with you and it was very much fun.
Very big thanks to Kris and Vinny who gave us so much support all the time, it was more than I expected. I would have loved to stay another month and have more time to develop my project and to explore more of the environment.
Check Irene´s profile: https://inhere.is/2024/09/irene-hoppenberg/
Tadhg Ó Cuirrín is an artist from the west of Ireland, working in a variety of media, but with a background in painting and an interest in the tension between our perception of the world and the images we make to represent it.
At Fish Factory, I thought a lot about Petra’s Stone Museum and other ways we make sense of the world. I was very interested in the Fish Factory building itself, and its previous and current life as a workspace. I spent a lot of time wandering around it, taking photos, making rubbings, and looking at what the other artists were doing. I tried to slow down and not rush headlong in to making things for the sake of it. I spent most of my time drawing, writing, reading, and developing ideas for future works. I’m currently in the process of sifting through these ideas and seeing what might work.
Fish Factory was such a great environment for this kind of slow down, and one that I appreciate all the more since I have returned to “reality”! The other artists were a lovely bunch, and Kris, Una, and Vinnie looked after us well. I do hope I can get back there someday. Big Thank you to Galway County Council for helping to fund the trip.
Read full bio: https://inhere.is/2024/09/tadhg-o-cuirrin/
James DeBay is a young American artist, working in both Vermont and New York. Currently studying at Pratt Institute, he is pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, with a minor in History of Art and Design.
As a young artist, my relationship with art is in a constant state of flux. The only way to achieve any form of stability in that relationship is by constantly creating work. Resultantly, I have formed
an ethos in which I work intuitively and obsessively. The Fish Factory provided an ideally conducive space for that. I was able to produce work at whatever quantity and quality I sought, experiencing a freedom specific only to this village and residency. The environmental context of Stöðvarfjörður played an immeasurable role; the endless daylight of June, the looming mountains, an immersion into nature, and some level of isolation. All were deeply revitalizing. I was able to learn so much from these factors, as well as from the local culture, the incredible other artists, and the amazing Fish Factory staff.
Full bio: https://inhere.is/2024/09/james-debay/
We’re halfway through the residency, and on our recent shopping trip, we saw the first snowfall of the season. Introducing September’s cohort (from top left):
Harry O’Connor, , .wilson. , , , Nicholas Miller,
Swipe right to see the video, accompanied by Wham’s “Last Christmas” – because nothing says September quite like this xmas classic.
On the last day of August, our artists-in-residence gathered to share their work and say their goodbyes. It’s always a bittersweet moment after weeks of creativity and collaboration. The new September group is already settling in, enjoying their time in the ceramics studio, concert hall, and shared workspace.
Ongoing ceramic workshop with our returning artist, Arista Wilson.
https://www.facebook.com/events/528303049538882
Marie-France Bourbeau is a visual artist who explores the sculptural possibilities of raw or recovered materials from nature - branches, roots, rocks, shells - which she assembles with elements modelled in clay. Her research focuses on the exploration of territory through the materials that form it, the imprint of the living world on it, and the complex, unsuspected links that weave matter together.
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I began to explore this mythological universe through ink and pastel drawings, and then, as soon as I could, I started modeling clay in the ceramics studio, an inspiring and luminous place to work. I took great pleasure in making bodies emerge from the clay, as if coming to life from magma. I designed a series of little beings inspired by the Huldufólk - the invisible people that inhabit the territory issued from Icelandic folklore. I integrated rocks and shells into their bodies as traces of the fundamental elements that compose them. Do these unfinished or mutating bodies emerge from the ground or return to it? I'm leaving the question open so that I can continue to explore this narrative thread. For the time being, I see these characters as landscapes in the making, linked to the land where they were born. I've called them bodyscapes, in reference to the invisible, inseparable link between the body and the land.
My residency at the Fish Factory has been more than productive: it has opened the door to a complex universe I didn't suspect existed. In this adventure, I'd particularly like to thank Selma and Mary, with whom I've had so many stimulating conversations. Not forgetting Una, for her openness and kindness. She has been an outstanding collaborator, and her experience in glazes has opened up new perspectives for me. My work is now imbued with the richness of Icelandic culture. Thank you and long live Fish Factory for making it possible for me to live this intense creative experience!
Read full bio: https://inhere.is/2024/09/marie-france-bourbeau/
After a three-month sailing trip from home, Margaux Bula (*1991, CH) arrived at the port of Stodvarsfjordur.
This Biel/Bienne-based artist has a particular affinity for working in-situ, and likes to let her work evolve in space. The involvement of elements such as wind, waves and tides has infused in her during the residency at the fish factory. Deeply interested in changes and evolution over time, whether of a phenomenon, a material or a thought, Margaux applied these concepts to various works.
In “There is a tide”, the barnacle structures observed in the Icelandic foreshore were reproduced on a large scale in white clay and plaster. These sculptures emanate electronic sounds from the depths. This work was the occasion for a collaboration with Lea Gasser and her accordion, whose movements are reminiscent of the ebb and flow of the tides.
The research “Belle et menaçante” (Beautiful and Threatening) was inspired by the history of the lupine in Iceland. Introduced after the war to help regenerate Icelandic soils, the Alaskan lupine has literally invaded the landscape of the volcanic island. So much so that the island’s inhabitants are now divided between pro- and anti-lupin. ” Belle et menaçante ” is a reflection on the fear of change, on the beauty and threat of what we don’t yet know.
Finally, a video work in progress was initiated during the residency, in collaboration with Sonya Trolliet, around questions of inadaptation in the landscape.
Full profile: https://inhere.is/2024/08/margaux-bula/
Hilary Nelson is an artist living and working between New Mexico and Iowa. Their work combines ideas of the familiar and alien through sculpture, installation, and drawing. Material exploration acts as a foundation to confront the paradox implicit in the idea of something being “finished”. When does “usefulness” end?
The materials at the Fish Factory, collected and left over from when it was still operating as a factory became vehicles for Hilary to think about ghosts of industry, place, ecology, and community. Broken down cars and the changing tide in the harbor made space for daily exploration of things that might fit, or not!
Full profile: https://inhere.is/2024/08/hilary-nelson/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-5Orp2oOKI/?img_index=1
Sonya Trolliet is an artist based in Lausanne, Switzerland. She works on several projects in illustration and graphic novels. She came here to feed her interests with rocks and micro-organisms.
Usually, drawing and painting, she develops, here in Stödvarfjördur, a performative video work with Margaux Bula. It’s a narrative of a lost being who is trying and trying again, and again.
During this Fish Factory residency, she was also able to work on some clumsy charcoal drawings and began writing a short screenplay for a graphic novel about two characters who are lost in the fog, who don’t know why they’re here and who mistake tourists for journalists.
“This residency was really a great moment to pursue my work and meet other artists, the landscape and the peoples really touched me. I was enchanted by the diversity of rocks and shapes, as well as the mosses. There were also many birds and flowers who I was happy to meet properly. I go back home with a certain amount of documentation and ideas. ”
Read full profile: https://inhere.is/2024/08/sonya-trolliet/
Simone Ebner (stage name 'Sijmonne') - An artist working at the intersection of poetry and electronics. Simone is a musician and music therapist from Stuttgart (Germany). She came to the Fish Factory to work on her new program 'COPY AND PASTE', which shows the versatility of her artistic work. Her songs are a creative fusion of musical styles, where electronic innovation meets profound songwriting artistry. Simone creates a unique soundscape, ranging from fragile acoustic moments to powerful electronic arrangements. Her songs are personal stories that you can immerse yourself in and sink into: sometimes as soft as a down filled pillow, sometimes with the unexpected intensity of an impact. During her stay at the Fish Factory, Simone composed new songs and began to produce music videos, inspired by visual impressions and atmospheres of the landscape, everyday sceneries, the peculiarities of the natural elements, all kinds of material treasures in the Factory and the enrichment of working among visual artists.
Many thanks to the Fish Factory for this great, unique and unforgettable month!
Read full profile: https://inhere.is/2024/08/simone-ebner/
Lea Gasser is a freelance accordionist and composer who grew up in Zurich, now living in Lausanne. Fascinated by the versatility of her instrument, she lets it take on different roles in various projects and gives it a very personal and intimate expression through her own compositions. After a Bachelor in classical music at the HKB in Bern, she followed the Master's program in Jazz Performance & Composing at HEMU in Lausanne.
As leader of her Lea Gasser 5tet, she has been playing her own jazz compositions since 2020. Music that is characterised by catchy and lyrical melodies, cheeky bass lines and dreamy character (album "L'Heure Bleue"). Lea also co-founded the duo OXEON with singer Sylvie Klijn. The duo combines their own compositions with arrangements of classical works, refined by effect pedals (album "Somewhere Far"). The musician is part of other bands and interdisciplinary projects.
"After my turbulent ferry journey to Iceland (very stormy sea), it took me a few days to really arrive here. I slowly explored the area on foot and by bike. What a raw and impressive nature around Stödvarfjördur! Kris taught us lots of exciting things about Iceland and we went on some great group excursions: monsters parade, whale watching and dancing night.
I started to develop new compositions and play my accordion in the nice in-house Studio Silo. I really enjoyed our Open Studio day, where I was able to present a few solo pieces. I was also very pleased to collaborate with Margaux Bula - art made of clay and sounds.
Many thanks to the Fish Factory team and to our great group! I hope to come back one day. Maybe in winter ;-)"
Full profile: https://inhere.is/2024/08/lea-gasser/
Nora Fuchs is a sculptor from Germany and lives in Berlin and Dortmund.
She has been a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund since 2003. There she teaches in the bachelor's program in three-dimensional design and in the master's program in scenography and is active in a network for the improvement of artistic teaching at universities. She has taken part in many exhibitions and has worked and curated at the Alte Schule Baruth art and culture association for 20 years. Her artistic work can be seen here: www.norafuchs.de.
"For me, a month in Stöðvarfjörður means having the freedom to try things out, discard them and develop new approaches to artistic work. Most of the time I was obsessed with observing the rapidly changing weather phenomena with my camera. At the moment I am working on the theme of tipping points. The moment of fragile equilibrium leaves open what is about to happen. But what if the fragile state tips in one direction? Is it possible to reverse this process?
10 found Fragments. An experiment with shards found on a staircase in Stöðvarfjörður: Does anyone know anything about the history of the vase? I posted it on Instagram, but I didn´t get a response.
I reconstruct the Vase and returned it to the place where it was found.I got information about the story of the house: it is the accommodation for workers in the fishing industry or other businesses. Most of them only live there on a daily basis. The house could have been the old postoffice.
After some days: The vase was probably knocked over by the wind. After the first time, I simply put it upright again. The second time it fell down the stairs. It is now supported by a wooden base that has been temporarily glued together with hot glue. This time the vase contained flowers to be noticed.
After the third fall, there are now 14 shards instead of 10. I decide not to damage the vase any more and put the pieces back where I found them, one by one, just as I found them."
Profile: https://inhere.is/2024/08/nora-fuchs/
Meet our August artist cohort!
(From left)
Julia Jacklin (AU), Riley Faulds (AU), Kelly Peeler (US), Mary Buckland (CA), Lisa Maione (US), Frank Webster (US), Olwyn Jennings (IR), Arielle Brackett (US), Adrienne Sacks (US), Irene Hoppenberg (GER), Tummi (Fish Factory)
Open Call for 2025 Residencies at Fish Factory Creative Centre!
Join us for an inspiring creative journey in 2025. Our residency periods are as follows:
- January 13th - 29th
- February 3rd - 28th
- March 5th - 31st
- April 3rd - 29th
- May 5th - 30th
- June 4th - 30th
- July - Summer Break
- August 4th - 29th
- September 3rd - 29th
- October 2nd - 28th
- November 3rd - 28th
- December - Winter Break
It is possible to stay at our Residency for consecutive months. The period of stay extends from the first day of the initial residency period to the last day of the final residency period.
More information on our website: https://inhere.is/residency/
Eva Spierenburg (the Netherlands) is a visual artist working with installation, painting, drawing, sculpture, video, performance, and everything in between. Her practice describes the correlation between our inner processes, and our physical body interacting with the world. With her work she aims to find a form for the human experiences that escape grip and language.
"During my residency at Fish Factory, I spent the days walking, staring at the clouds swirling around the mountains, filming and drawing. I was planning to focus my drawings on the analogy between body and landscape. The Icelandic landscape turned out to be so overwhelmingly present, that the notion of the dissolving body emerged from my drawings. I also imagined the earth itself as a body; breathing, leaking, digesting, moving in a different time than ours. Ridges turned into spines. Thick soft moss covering solid stones, like flesh covers our bones.
I found myself having much more patience and focus on detail than in my studio at home, ecountering possible new subjects and ways of working. I really had an amazing time in Stöðvarfjörður, gaining lots of energy, inspiration and new things to explore from the residency. Thank you!"
See full profile on our website: https://inhere.is/2024/06/eva-spierenburg/
Hardy Langer is a German painter and drawer. Landscape plays an important role in his work. In many cases it serves as a carrier or supposed home for people and animals, which often mark the beginning of a story. These stories, in turn, usually develop from a deliberate misplacement of the characters who somehow do not want to fit into these landscapes.
"My residency at Fish Factory Stödvarfjördur was based on a scholarship that I was awarded as a member of Interface Inagh, an artists’ organisation and art centre in the West of Ireland, and was funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. As with other scholarships, I had chosen a location-specific topic that I then wanted to work on in Iceland. During my preparations, I became interested in fish and fishing, which is directly related to the fishing situation and the former fish factory in Stödasfjördur. However, things turned out completely different: I had ambitiously taken 40 more or less small, stretched canvases with me to Iceland, along with lots of oil and acrylic paints. That wasn‘t a problem because I came with my own car (which I can only recommend to everyone). However, the canvases were not filled with fish and everything associated with them, but almost exclusively with landscape. The impressions of rock, grass, water, wind, clouds, snow were too overwhelming and I was too undisciplined to stick to my original plan. After all, the (not entirely serious) requirement from Vinny, the boss of the Fish Factory, that we were allowed to paint everything except mountains („everyone who comes here immediately paints mountains, it‘s as if everyone takes part in a band casting plays automatically Stairway to Heaven – that‘s a no-go!“) I held out for a whole 10 days, before this resolution was ultimately gone..."
Read his full story at length on our website: https://inhere.is/2024/06/hardy-langer/
The swiss artist Silvia Buol studied Visual Arts at Basel School of Art and Design (MA 1980), Movement Theatre in Rome and Zürich (Diploma 1984), and Contemporary Dance with Richard Haisma in San Francisco. She works as a visual and performing artist and is also a freelance in cultural projects and a founding member of ”die nomadisierenden veranstalter”. Her approach in drawing, painting, photography and performance is strongly physical and references movement in time and space.
In Stödvarfjördur she engaged with the sea, the shore and the tides. In landart-like manifestations she increased the visibility of the movements of the sea, she focused on stones, seaweed and found materials. She used installations, drawings, paintings, photography and a performance on the old pier to record her experiences of the specific landscape and its inherent movements.
Read full profile:
https://inhere.is/2024/06/silvia-buol/
Thank you Silvia!!
Toni Cinderella is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works on the east coast of the United States. She creates portals and gates to playful dreamscapes that describe specific memories and explore femininity and the purities in life through transient moments in nature. At the Fish Factory, she created a series of drawings and video and sound compilations based on her experience of living in Iceland in May. The mountains, the moon, the birds, the blooming flowers and the rivers and ocean were the most influential elements for her work. Using her voice and theremin were some of her main experimentations during the residency where she found these instruments and the Icelandic landscape all held similarities in terms of spatiality, delicacy and the power of being present.
Profile link: https://inhere.is/2024/06/toni-cinderella/
Last Monday, our Artist in Residence hosted an Open Studio to celebrate Þjóðhátíðardagurinn, Iceland's National Day! It was a fantastic opportunity for visitors to explore the creative process and see the incredible work being produced in our studios. We were thrilled to share this special day with the community and showcase the diverse talents of our resident artists
photos by Misha Martin
Bankastræti 1
Stöðvarfjörður
755
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Hér má sjá Kimi Tayler , verkefnastýruna okkar, tala meðal annars um hlutverk sitt innan Sköpunarmiðstöðvarinnar, starf hennar sem uppistandari, og reynsluna af því að flytja frá stórborginni London til Stöðvarfjarðar 🤩🥳🥸 // Take a look at our residency coordinator Kimi Tayler talking about her role at the Creative Centre, work as a stand-up comedian and move to Stöðvarfjörður 🤩🥳🥸 Landinn - frétta- og þjóðlífsþáttur
Some pretty cool screen printing magic happening 🤩❤️
