Why a residency?

We once lived and worked in Laugarvatn, one year we were there at the same time.
We got to know the deep stillness, the faraway mountains with Hekla in the middle, the mysterious lake, the ever changing steams from the ground, the cuddling mountain, the birch wood, the creeks and fissures, the trout, the special history of the school village and the wonderful people living in the village and surrounding farms.

In 1995 we planned a festival of arts and other activities. The interest it aroused was unbelievable. More than 130 people took part, visual artists, musicians, poets and writers, theater people, historians and other scholars of different kinds, and so on. It was then evident that many people were eager to enjoy the special atmosphere of Laugarvatn for creative purposes.

In 2005 we planned another festival, even bigger than before. This time the arts and the academic fields mixed even more and acitivities were of great variety. Both these festivals were centered in a schoolbuilding that was built in 1929, Héraðsskólinn, but took place in many other buildings of the village and outdoors as well, even in a crosscountry hike around the lake as well as a climb up to the Gullkistan mountaintop.

Since 2005 we have prepared to start an international residency for artists and academics of all fields in Laugarvatn because it is our belief that all creative people can quickly discover and enjoy the magic of Laugarvatn.

The Gullkistan residency had it’s first guests in summer 2009 and they were all very happy with their stay. It will grow slowly but surely as more creative people discover the magic of Laugarvatn.