Hugarflug 2023 hófst í kvöld með vel heppnaðri opnunarhátíð í Y gallerí, Hamraborg.
Fríða Björk Ingvarsdóttir rektor Listaháskóla Íslands bauð gesti velkomna með ávarpi þar sem hún velti fyrir sér þema Hugarflugs í ár „margfeldi framtíða“ frá persónulegu sjónarhorni. Ávarpið er hægt að lesa hér fyrir neðan
Þar á eftir sýndu nemendur í samtímadansi við Listaháskóla Íslands verkið „February Idea Dump“ í bílakjallaranum fyrir utan sýningarrýmið. Þá tók við erindið „Hamraborg Draumavél“ (en. Hamraborg Dreammachine) á vegum Snæbjörns Brynjarssonar, Ragnheiðar Bjarnarsonar, Sveins Snæs Kristjánssonar og Joanna Pawlowska. Því næst fór umsjónarmaður fasteigna í Kópavogi með áhugasama í göngutúr um undirgöng undir gömlu Skipastöðinni í Hamraborg þar sem, eins og Snæbjörn orðaði í erindi sínu, hægt var að virða fyrir sér hið manngerða landslag.
Þar á eftir sýndu nemendur í samtímadansi við Listaháskóla Íslands verkið „February Idea Dump“ í bílakjallaranum fyrir utan sýningarrýmið. Þá tók við erindið „Hamraborg Draumavél“ (en. Hamraborg Dreammachine) á vegum Snæbjörns Brynjarssonar, Ragnheiðar Bjarnarsonar, Sveins Snæs Kristjánssonar og Joanna Pawlowska. Því næst fór umsjónarmaður fasteigna í Kópavogi með áhugasama í göngutúr um undirgöng undir gömlu Skipastöðinni í Hamraborg þar sem, eins og Snæbjörn orðaði í erindi sínu, hægt var að virða fyrir sér hið manngerða landslag.
Hugarflug 2023
ávarp rektors
09.02.23
Dear friends, colleagues and guests,
I
We are here to celebrate the opening of Hugarflug - our research conference - and it's theme Collective Futures. Yesterday when I was thinking about this theme it occured to me that it was at this very spot here in Hamraborg, where I first started contemplating my own future - not in plural but, very much in the singular.
I grew up in this particular part of the world, and spent quite a lot of time in my childhood and teenage years in the bus terminal just around the corner. I would sit there waiting and dream about distant places, of getting to know people from different cultures, of studying something other than what was offered half a cenury ago - in this particular country, which at the time was the meter my world was measured by.
II
In hindsight, the future that I imagined for myself all those years ago, has in the end turned out much like I had wished for - at a personal level. That in itself is a small miracle for which I am very grateful. However I now realise that this miracle is neither a result of careful planning, nor a manifestation of my ability to pursue my dreams.
Quite the contrary; the realisation of my childhood dream has been a combination of luck and perhaps eagerness to embrace the unknown. An eagerness that was most likely fuelled by the fact that I had no idea at the time of how one's own future, is intricately intertwined with other futures - with collective futures.
I was not without a worry. I did think about the nuclear threat - which at the time was the greatest concern imaginable for my generation´s future - and seemed the only plausible way to destroy the world.
I did not, however, think about, nor could I imagine, the bleak future of the rainforest, the future of the seas, the glaciers, the bees - the future of nature in general. I did not worry to much about the future of democracy, of clean air or my own language. All of this I took for granted, along with a linear timeline of progress and development which in time would tide mankind into a better, safer and more progressive world.
III
Was I naive? Yes probably. Was I ignorant? No, I don´t think so. I did not have access to the all encompassing public sphere that we now have, regardless of our age. Mankind in my youth had only just seen the world from outer space for the first time. Experienced the vulnerability of planet Earth. The public platform was very small - it was mostly local, and quite fragmented.
As young people, my generation did not have the sama chance as we now have, to mould and shape the public discourse across cultures and countries. We could not follow someone's life in real time across oceans and continents, nor access information at the speed of a lightning. The public sphere, as it is now, has become so vast and inclusive that it is difficult to think about the future in the singular anymore, and impossible to think of time as a linear progression.
We have all become acutely aware of the built in fallacy of truth as a concept, of the single perspective as a point of view, and of reality as a fixed reference point. We share incredible opportunities for expression, for motivation and progress, but also the responsibility, not only for ourselves and others, but also for the environment - and ultimately the survival of the planet.
The point here is, that it is not only my perspective that has changed. The world's perspectives have changed. We are all implicit - part of a network that needs to be organised for the benefit of the whole.
IV
I therefore welcome the opportunity to think about collective futures today and tomorrow, together with you all - as a way to participate in a multifaceted conversation, expression and thought.
The departure point of my youth, has become a starting point again - ideologically at least - and I hope it will lead me and all of those that participate in Hugarflug into unknown territories with new ideas, paths and perspectives.
Thank you - and enjoy!
Ráðstefna Hugarflugs fer fram föstudaginn 10. febrúar frá 9:00 – 17:00 að Laugarnesvegi 91. Dagskrá og frekari upplýsingar er hægt að finna á hugarflug.lhi.is.
Athugið að dagskrá í svarta sal, L223, verður streymt á vef Hugarflugs hér.
Athugið að dagskrá í svarta sal, L223, verður streymt á vef Hugarflugs hér.
Hlökkum til að sjá ykkur,
gleðilegt Hugarflug!
Myndir: Heiða Helgadóttir