Faculty members and students of the IUA nominated for the Icelandic Art Price

The Iceland University of the Arts would like to congratulate all of the artists nominated for this year's Icelandic Art Price. The Icelandic Visual Arts Council presents the Icelandic Art Prize 2022 for the fifht time, providing support to outstanding visual artists as well as encouraging new artistic creation. The Icelandic Art Prize is awarded in two categories: Artist Of The Year and Motivational Award. The Award Celebration will take place at Iðnó on the 17th of March.

IUA would especially like to congratulate faculty members Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Carl Boutard from the Fine Arts Department, well as Melanie Ubaldo, MA student of Fine Art and part of Lucky 3 who received nomination for the Motivational Award.

Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson are nominated for their exhibition Visitations at Akureyri Art Museum. The exhibition is the result of the multi-year research project Polar Bears Out of Place, which they undertook in collaboration with experts in folklore, natural and environmental studies. The aim of the project is to contribute to a growing body of knowledge concerning human/non-human relations in a time of global warming. To this end, particular focus is on polar bear arrivals in Iceland both past and present. The works in the exhibition cast a light on questions of nature conservation and examine stories about run-ins between polar bears and people over time and what happens when these two predators meet.

Carl Boutard is nominated for the exhibition Budding Earth at Ásmundarsafn. Nature and man’s connection to nature are his main themes. For this exhibition, the artist transferred nature into the exhibition space with new and recent works, in dialogue with selected works by Ásmundur Sveinsson. The exhibition Budding Earth was a rewarding experience that combined an interesting approach of the subject and an intriguing use of material. The artist unveiled the actual presentation of the phenomenon through thorough examination. Man and nature, perception, creation, consumerism and recycling, are intertwined and create an aesthetic whole in a beautiful exhibition.

Lucky 3 is a group formed by three artists who trace their origin to the Philippines: Dýrfinna Benita Basalan, Darren Mark and Melanie Ubaldo. When working together, they use their heritage and the constant cultural conflicts of their lives.