Keynote speakers
Kristjan Leosson holds a BSc degree in engineering physics and a BA in philosophy from Queen's University, Canada, an MSc in physics from the University of Iceland and a PhD in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. During the past 20 years, he has mainly worked within the fields of nanotechnology, materials science and optics, often in collaboration with other fields ranging from biology to architecture, both within academia, in public/private R&D and with a number of high-tech startup companies.
In recent years, he has been a regular lecturer in the Department of Fine Art at the Icelandic University of the Arts.
Saga Sigurðardóttir is a dancer and performing artist, born and based in Reykjavík. She has created, directed and performed an extensive variety of performance works, often in collaboration with artists wide across the arts, locally and internationally. She studied contemporary dance and experimental choreography at ArtEZ Art Academy (NL), finalized her MFA studies at Iceland University of the Arts in 2017 and holds a BA in Theology from Iceland University.
Saga's work and collaborations have touched multiple contexts; dance and theatre, music production, performative installations for museums, site-specific experiential work, gallery and carnival gigs and metal festivals. Her choreographies are concerned with bodies and things - their encounters, shared universes, their depth and intimacy. Her work has been, in symbiosis with human bodies, performed by collaborators such as trees, amps, mattresses, bass guitars, gum, velour, vinyl, skip robes, axe and key boards.
Wilhelm Carlsson has been a professor of music dramatic performance at the Stockholm University of the Arts since 2011. He finished his studies in theatre directing 1976 and has since worked within experimental theatre as well as directing operas and theatre classics at the major stages of Sweden. He is currently developing a new interdisciplinary Master programme at SKH and is a member of the steering board for the Erasmus+ strategic partnership "BAD - Beyond Art Disciplines". He is also running a research project called "Pendular Movements - the transformations of the voice in theatre and opera". Wilhelm Carlsson is an honorary doctor at the Uppsala University and has received the King's gold medal Litteris and Artibus for his artistic contribution to Swedish society.