Head of International Office, Iceland University of the Arts

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

Back to where I came from. I graduated from the IUA in 2001, together with the other students that received a BA degree from the IUA, my faculty was textile art/design.

After my graduation I lived abroad for a few years, first in the UK and then in Italy, where I was embraced by Italian culture and nature, growing my own vegetables and working with textiles while raising my son in the countryside close to Rome, the best 4 years of my life!

WHAT IS YOUR PATHWAY TO THE CURRENT POSITION?

When moving back to Reykjavik in 2007 I started working for the IUA in the design and architecture department where I was a project manager and part-time teacher in fashion design for 5 years.

In 2012 I changed direction and went on to present Icelandic visual arts abroad with the Icelandic Art Center. I became the director of the Center, staying there for 7 years. After having realised the exhibition at the Icelandic Pavilion in Venice, a good four times with different artists it was time for a change again. I finished my Master in Museum studies with the focus on Slow Looking and meditation within the museum world.

In 2021 I got back to working for the IUA where I am now running the International Office, connecting our students to the international art and design forum connected with universities and studies.

WHAT IS YOUR PASSION IN YOUR JOB?

Textiles are in my blood and in my genes, since I was a small girl my mom and my grandmothers taught me how to sew and knit and getting all those threads together in the right place. I see my work at the international office very similar, getting all those loose ends together and helping them to find the right place and the right color, sometimes we get to a knot that needs to be solved and redone, but all needs to be done mindfully with good communication.