Kristín Eysteinsdóttir has been appointed the new rector of the Iceland University of the Arts as of August 1 next. Kristín takes over from Friða Björk Ingvarsdóttir, who will complete her 10-year tenure at the school this year. Kristín is hired for five years with the possibility of reappointment for another five years. A total of twenty applied for the position.
According to Magnús Ragnarsson, chairman of the board of the Iceland University of the Arts, it is a great pleasure for the board to introduce Kristína as the future leader of the university: „It is a great privilege for the University of the Arts to have had such a powerful manager and a good artist lead the next phase of the school's work” The school's board welcomes Kristina to work this fall and expects a lot from the collaboration for the next few years.”
Kristín Eysteinsdóttir completed a master's degree in directing from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2007, but before that she had completed a BA in dramaturgy from Aarhus University in 2002. Kristín has directed about 20 performances in professional theaters and was a permanent director at the City Theater from 2008 - 2014. In 2008, she was chosen director of the year at Grímunn for the show Sá ljóti and was also nominated for the same award in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Kristín has also directed at the Radio Theater and worked as a dramaturg at numerous shows and has held numerous positions of responsibility with board seats and chairmanships of various boards and committees related to drama, education and publishing.
Kristín was appointed theater director of the City Theater in 2014 and held that position until 2020. Under her direction, the City Theater achieved remarkable results both artistically and operationally, attendance records for the theater were broken, and the theater won the Grímuna, the Icelandic Performing Arts Award, for the show of the year all the years she was theater director. She recently finished her first short film and has been preparing her first feature film in the past two years, which is well on its way to development. Kristín has worked as a professor and professional director at the performing arts department of the Iceland University of the Arts since August 2022.
On the occasion of this turning point, Kristín says: „I believe that arts and creative thinking play a key role in the subjects of the future” At the Iceland University of the Arts, the future is shaped and it is a privilege to be able to lead this important educational and cultural institution for the next few yearsI am very much looking forward to working with the students of the school and the powerful group that operates there.”