Graduation 2026: 191 students graduated at a ceremony in Harpa
The graduation ceremony of the Iceland Academy of the Arts took place on Friday, June 19, 2026 at a ceremony in Silfurbergi, Harpa. There were 191 graduates this year with 193 degrees, while two students completed two degrees. Then 23 graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, 53 from the Faculty of Design, 14 from the Faculty of Film Arts, 34 from the Faculty of Art Education, 5 from the Faculty of Performing Arts and 25 from the Faculty of Music.
Guðríður Jóhannsdóttir and Kister Rognaldsen Pedersen were in charge of presenting the program in Silfurbergi when they are students at the Performing Arts Department of LHÍ.
The ceremony began with the Rector's fire speech
The program was solemn in its woes and began with an address by the rector, Kristína Eysteinsdóttir. It is safe to say that Kristína's speech of fire did not leave anyone untouched, but she said goodbye to graduate students with an extremely valuable way for the future, a reminder to stop, stay in the moment, evaluate and accept.
, We often talk about time as if it is a unit of measurement: minutes, hours, semesters, years. We measure speed, distances, and performance. But time not only lives in the clock He lives in the body In the attention of the heart In the way we choose to be present He shapes how we perceive the world, carry the past, meet the present, and allow the future to open up. “
Although time was a leading theme in the Rector's address, it also encouraged students to continue asking questions, to hold on to courage, and to trust the inner compass The Rector's speech can be read in its entirety here.
Student representatives delivered a speech
After the rector's address, it was time for the students, but there is a rich tradition for a representative of the graduates from each department to give a speech at the school's graduation. In the students' short talks, the past path was often looked over, teachers and staff were thanked for the guidance and togetherness in recent years, and fellow students were congratulated on the course Representatives of the departments were as follows:
Jireh Joan Abong Tolentino, Department of Architecture
Erla Lind Guðmundsdóttir, design department
Hanna Hulda Hafthórsdóttir, Faculty of Cinematic Arts
Maríanna Eva Dúfa Sævarsdóttir, art education department
Lucrezia Costa, Faculty of Fine Arts
Jón Sigurður Gunnarsson, Faculty of Performing Arts
Tumi Torfason, music department.
Halla Tómasdóttir, President of Iceland, gave a celebratory speech
It was not only the rector who gave good advice to the graduates for the future Halla Tómasdóttir, the President of Iceland, delivered a celebratory speech at the ceremony In the speech, she gave three good tips for the future to the graduates.
, First: Choose the curiosity The world is full of people who think they know the answers Be among those who keep asking questions.
Second: Protect the courage. Don't let the fear of failure become stronger than the desire to create Almost everything that is crucial and changes the world is born as an idea that someone found completely unrealistic, even ridiculous.
And thirdly: Remind yourself - and all of us - of humanity.“
We thank Halla Tómasdóttir, the President of Iceland, for coming, the advice and the understanding of the importance of art and creativity in Icelandic society. As she put so well in her address, creativity is and will be a prerequisite for progress. The festival speech can be read in its entirety later here.
Music from the musical Ormstunga
Two musical performances from the musical Ormstunga were performed between speeches and course recording. Hafsteinn Níelsson, the second author of the work, first staged the musical in the premises of the University of the Arts, which was then his final project in the 2nd year of stage writing studies at LHÍ. Óliver Þorsteinsson, writer, also writes the script, but the musical has now had a good time celebrating on the stage of the National Theater. Kristinn Óli Haraldsson, Jakob Van Oosterhout and Rán Ragnarsdóttir performed the songs Say goodbye and Chess and Modules. They all come from the performing arts department of LHÍ, but Kristinn and Jakob have completed their undergraduate studies at the school's performing arts department, and Rán has his third and last year at the department this fall.
We sincerely congratulate the graduates on the milestone, you are the artists of the future and you are all capable of all roads. We also thank everyone who came to the ceremony. Below you can access a photo series from the day The photographer is Eygló Gísladóttir.
