Standard programme

Exhibitions, concerts and plays
Since opening Gerðuberg has become a popular venue for exhibitions both by local artists and a growing number of foreign artists. Many concerts are held in the center and Gerðuberg has collaborated on projects with the Society of Icelandic composers and The Society of Icelandic Musicians. Smaller theatre groups often use Gerðuberg as a stage for their performances.

Art exhibitions in the Bogi exhibition area
Naive artists have used the Senior Citizens’ Social Activities exhibition area for exhibitions of their work since 1999.  Organization of the exhibitions is in the hands of the Arts Department in collaboration with the manager of the SCSA Department. Those interested in exhibiting work are urged to submit applications with their CV and information about their works. Photographs or samples of works to be exhibited must accompany applications.  Application forms are available from the SCSA Department or the office.  All applications will be answered in writing.

Visual and Literary Seminars
Since 1996 visual seminars have offered insight into Icelandic contemporary art, giving the public the opportunity to become familiar with the concepts, motivation and lives of the artists and their works. The Literary seminars began in 1999 with a similar aim, to provide insight into the lives and writings of Iceland's leading authors. Both visual and literary seminars are published and available in Gerðuberg.

Kvæðamannafélagið Iðunn (Traditional Poetry Society)
The traditional ballad and poetry society Kvæðamannafélagið Iðunn was founded on 15 September 1929 and has been functioning ever since; it is now one of the oldest societies in Reykjavík. From the beginning, its main aim has been to uphold, preserve and disseminate Iceland’s unique and age-old heritage of rímur and vísur, the poetry that is one of the most distinctive features of Icelandic culture. Collecting and recording have played an important role in the society’s work, and its archives contain an important body of sound recordings of rímur melodies and transcriptions of occasional verses and longer poems, and also published editions, manuscripts and of course the society’s own minutes and other records. Part of these archives will be moved to the sitting room on the lower floor of Gerðuberg this winter, where they will be accessible for members of Iðunn and other interested parties. 
The society’s meetings, held for the instruction and entertainment of its members and their guests, are held once a month. Meetings of the society will be held every month over the winter for the instruction and amusement of its members and their guests. Chanters (or singers) of the traditional ballads (kvæðamenn) and improvisers of verse (hagyrðingar) make their contributions, reciting ballads and poems and giving readings on related subjects. The middle section of each meeting is dedicated to choral performance in which everyone takes part.
The society now has more than two hundred members. Its meetings and rehearsals this winter will be held in Gerðuberg, under a contract between the two, and it is fitting that one of the oldest functioning cultural societies in the city should use one of the city’s oldest cultural venues for its activities.

The Icelandic solo song
The CD's The Icelandic Solo Song 1&2 and 3&4 offer a generous selection of favourite Icelandic art songs by many of Iceland's leading composers from the turn of the century to the present day. Among the performers are many of the country's leading classical singers.
In 2002 Gerðuberg published a CD with songs by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, the first Icelandic musician to make a career as a composer. English translation are inclosed in the CD's.
The most recent CD is of songs by the well known composer Sigvaldi Kaldalóns.

Gagn & gaman
The art workshop Gagn og gaman was a regular feature of Gerðuberg’s annual programme from 1985 to 1994, in which children aged 6-13 worked at creative projects of various types under the direction of people active in the arts: writers, actors, artists, musicians, poets and dancers. Courses lasted either three weeks, involving many types of activity, or a single week, with the focus on one of the arts. The children always worked under artists’ direction; The workshops all ended with an exhibition of the work the children had done. 
Gerðuberg has systematically collected pictures produced on these courses, and now has about 1,000 works in storage; recording and classifying this collection is now nearing completion. As far as is known, the collection is unique in Iceland and there are few parallels elsewhere in the Nordic countries. The works were chosen by artists, their selection guided by considerations of structure, form and colour, with no compromises regarding artistic standards. Thus, it is a treasure-trove for researchers, educationalists, historians and connoisseurs of the arts to dip into, now and in the future. Companies and institutions can hire works from the collection for various lengths of time, and assistance is available with making a choice, depending on the scope and theme of the proposed exhibitions.

For further information, contact the Arts Department, tel. 575 7706 / 575 7707 or gudrun.dis.jonatansdottir@reykjavik.is