Showcasing strengths and diversities of Iceland

A week-long culture festival will feature history, music, art and movies of the Land of Extremes

A strong literary tradition thrives in Iceland with Icelandic authors publishing more books per capita than in any other country in the world.

With its Norse mythology roots that shaped JRR Tolkien’s imaginary universe in the ‘Lord of The Rings,’ an admirable socio-economic profile and its vibrant art, music and theatre, Iceland packs quite a punch for an island its size.

And, the Land of Extremes (fire and ice) on the North Atlantic is showcasing its unique strengths and its cultural diversity at a week-long festival beginning with an art show at the Alliance Francaise on Friday.

The Icelandic Cultural Festival (March 9-16) featuring its cultural history, music, movies and art, is hosted by the Iceland-Pondicherry Friendship Society and the Embassy of Iceland in New Delhi with the support of the Alliance Francaise.

Iceland Ambassador to India Thorir Ibsen is scheduled to be in the city for the opening of the festival.

The high points of the celebration include an exhibition of contemporary art beginning Friday, the premiere on Saturday of ‘Ploey-You Never Fly Alone’ (English version), an animated film by Árni Ásgeirsson in the presence of the Iceland Ambassador and Gunnar Karlsson (artistic director) and a music concert ‘In Your Heart’ by Trio Reykjavik (Sigridur Thorlacius (vocals), Asgeir Asgeirsson (guitar) and Haukur Grondal (sax) on Sunday.

Art expo

The contemporary art exhibition curated by art historian Jon Proppe and on show at Maison Colombani will feature works of Gudjon Bjarnason, Olof Nordal, Mireya Samper and Erla Thorarinsdottir.

A conference on Monday on the topic ‘India and Iceland: Our Shared History’, screening of a film ‘Volcano’ by Runar Runarsson (Tuesday) and ‘The Homecoming’ by Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson (Wednesday) are part of the Iceland experience.

According to Iceland Tourism, the cornerstone of Icelandic culture is the Icelandic language, which has spawned a literary tradition that dates back to the ancient Icelandic Sagas and are filled with tales of violent blood feuds, traditions, family, and character.

A strong literary tradition still thrives in modern Iceland with Icelandic authors publishing more books per capita than in any other country in the world.

Iceland also boasts a prospering music scene and a burgeoning film industry.

Progressive country

In fact, this is a country that tied for third most socially progressive country in the world (with Norway) after Finland and Denmark in a survey of 128 countries by Social Progress Imperative, based in Washington, DC, and London.

In the survey that mapped performance across a set of over 50 indicators that go beyond GDP numbers to measure social progress, Iceland emerged better than most nations in terms of access to clean water and sanitation, nutrition, basic medical care, tolerance, inclusion and gender equality.