The staff of the Iceland University of the Arts gathered in Björta loftum in Harpa after a successful graduation ceremony on Friday, June 16 last. The school winter was celebrated there and the staff who have completed their work were called. Among them was Friða Björk, the rector of the school, who now has reached her ten-year tenure at the school. Here you can read a speech given by the vice-chairman of the LHÍ board on that occasion.

Farewell speech

Friða Björk Ingvarsdóttir, rector of the Iceland University of the Arts
2013-2023

I am going to keep a number on behalf of the board of the University of the Arts in the absence of its chairman Magnús Ragnarsson, whose name is Karen María Jónsdóttir and I am on the board of the school on behalf of Bakland University of the Arts and I am also its vice-chairman.

We say goodbye here to Friða Björk Ingvarsdóttir, who has held the position of rector of the Iceland University of the Arts for the past 10 years. The work of the rector of the Iceland University of the Arts is a job that everyone in the field of creative arts has an opinion on, which is both good and necessary because we know the great influence that the school has and its importance for society as a whole.

Since Friða has been at the helm, a lot of work has been done in the restructuring of the school's administration, the environment of academic work, the strengthening of research in the field of art, as well as the development of new study programs in all departments. There has been an extensive institutional review of the school's activities on behalf of the Quality Council of Icelandic Universities, and the results have both times been excellent. Studies and teaching at the Iceland University of the Arts are trusted on the international stage.

In times of development, Friða has also been unstoppable in her efforts to ensure the school's academic freedom so that a fruitful society could be created, an environment for teachers and students where they could seek the truth, understand reality, perceive the world and give it shape through dialogue, research and artistic creation. Because that's exactly where the school's motto is embodied Curiosity - Understanding- Daring.

But we all know Frida's structure of the school's internal work, and especially those who have worked at the school and worked with her on the development over the past decade. Therefore, I would like to focus the spotlight on her work that appears to us on the board but is hidden from many others.

The concept of academic freedom in a broad sense concerns not only the internal work of the Iceland University of the Arts but also the strategic planning and operation of the school, that it has at all times and freedom to develop and thrive on its own terms The University of the Arts, like other institutions, is playful in the external environment, and as the school affects the external environment, the external environment affects it. Into this unspeakable external space, Friðar has not been afraid to step and offer dance.

For example, in the fight for new housing for the Iceland University of the Arts Few people perhaps realize that in the 10 years since Friða took over, the political landscape has been in considerable motion During the period, we have gone through parliamentary elections four times, 11 ministers all with their priorities, from 5 different political parties, have been in charge of the three ministries involved in the decision on a new building.

Every change of government, change of ministers or division of a ministry is a certain zero point. To a certain extent, we have to start over. The situation, new priorities need to be analyzed and a new harmony and rhythm found in the conversation. Often this situation has reduced the strength of the government, but whenever the darkness has been as black as possible, Friða has pulled us towards the light director, which she miraculously always manages to find and amplify.

And the same is true of the operation of the school, which is narrowly tailored. Friða initiated the restructuring of the school's finances, which included, among other things, the construction of an allocation model that has created a lot of transparency in the use of funds in the school work and thus fairness in the entire activity. With the data on the table, the conversation with the public sector about the operation of the school has changed and more trust is placed in it than before. In addition, a turnaround in the operation of the school and a positive operating result have also been crucial in our conversation with the government about new housing and the continued development and strengthening of university studies in the academic field of art.

This is not the least important in times such as now when restraint has been announced in state administration and the merger of the institutions in the revised financial plan. The University of the Arts has in the last five years lived in a situation where it was without a contract. Every year we have had to wait for a approved budget to confirm the continued operation and the amount that the school has at its disposal in the activities at any given time. Here it was again Frida's unwavering belief in the role and purpose of the University of the Arts that finally brought the matter to a close, but it was truly a joy when a new institutional agreement for five years was put on the table this week.

Fundamental changes have also taken place in society with revolutions such as MeToo and discussion of the inclusion of the disabled and cultural learning We can be extremely proud of how firmly this discussion was taken within the school, how it was listened to, worked on improvements and work will continue on improvements. It was complicated, sensitive but oh so legitimate and timely Not to mention the pandemic that shut down society and had a huge impact on the mental health of an entire nation, but we can confirm that Friða was awakened and asleep over the well-being of all the school's staff and students, until the end.

Finally, it is the technology that has completely changed everyone we know and unleashed forces that we still don't know for sure how will develop. When the University of the Arts was founded at the turn of the last century, we were still debating whether the Internet was a bubble. Just under a decade later, smartphones came to the Icelandic market with associated developments such as virtual reality and added reality, and today a course in digital creation and communication is being prepared in collaboration with the University of Reykjavík. Not to mention the artificial intelligence that the Iceland University of the Arts has of course welcomed and ChatGPT, which is unexpectedly topple everything in recent seasons, but it will be exciting to see how that creative chaos will be processed in the near future.

Frida's story as rector of the Iceland University of the Arts describes an outstanding leader who is extremely naive of the environment and spirit and does not hesitate to take the hit, even over and over again. The optimism that characterizes her and the unwavering belief in the activities she leads, the people and the art are unique. There also determines her huge heart.