Description
Sputnik Photos in Poland and Heimili kvikmyndanna (which runs Cinema Paradis, an independent artistic cinema in Reykjavik) work together on a project which will contribute to a better understanding of cultural diversity, strengthen intercultural dialogue thanks to the analysis of some issues of Icelandic social life, will stimulate exchange of knowledge between artists and will strengthen bilateral relations. The project is built on artistic cooperation between Icelandic and Polish visual artists, based on joint work on multimedia material concerning contemporary Iceland (incl. a residence programme, seminar in Poland, screening films, publication). The project makes it possible to show Iceland through personal stories, and tell them with certain intimacy, instead of copying ideas about the country formed on the basis of what is in the media. It will help local communities improve people’s access to culture by inviting them to attend part in the shows foreseen in the project.
Summary of project results
The project was an answer to the need of introducing Poles to the Icelandic society in a way which debunks the unfavourable stereotype that prevails on the island. However the number of Polish inhabitants of Iceland is still very high, Icelanders share the negative opinion on Poles, hardly ever having a personal contacts themselves. Project is a unique chance for creative artistic cooperation leading to the creation of high quality art. The project made it possible to show Iceland through personal stories, and tell them with certain intimacy, instead of copying ideas about the country formed on the basis of what is in the media. It was also aimed to help local communities improve access to culture by inviting them to the participation in the shows foreseen in the project. The Iceland in Residence project was built on artistic cooperation between Icelandic and Polish visual artists, based on joint work on a multimedia material concerning contemporary Iceland. Six Polish renowned documentary photographers (Agnieszka Rayss, Jan Brykczyński, Michał Łuczak, Adam Pańczuk, Andrei Liankevich and Rafał Milach), who have already been experimenting for some time with the new form, i.e. multimedia, together with three Icelandic filmmakers (Huldar Breiđfjorđ, Helena Stefansdóttir and Kristjan Palsson) participated in an artists in residence programme in Iceland. The residency aimed at joint work in three teams (each consisting of two Polish artists and one Icelandic) on separate multimedia materials concerning Iceland and the analysis of the independent Icelandic contemporary cinema. A seminar in Poland run by Polish artists specializing in documentary cinema served as an introduction to these activities. Commonly produced multimedia works and three independent Icelandic films were shown both in Iceland (Reykjavik, Patreksfjordur, Egilsstadir, Holmavik) and in Poland (Korsze, Sianów and Sulejów , Warsaw). The total audience: 1040. The display was accompanied by a free publication in a form of a trilingual brochure (in Polish, Icelandic and English) and systematically followed on a special blog (
https://icelandinresidence.wordpress.com/).
Summary of bilateral results
The project wouldn't be possible without Icelandic artists participating in the project. The unique mixture of the point of view from the inside and outside was a key point of the work during the project. Within the funds of the project there was a possibility to not only give each team a month-long-time to work together on Iceland on the filmmaking process but also to invite all the artists to Warsaw for the seminar. That brought a great spirit to the project. The Icelandic partner was involved in the project from the beginning, giving a stable support. Being a bigger and more experienced institution rooted in film industry, it gave resources to provide a professional support for artists together. It strenghtened the results of the project, especially on Iceland.