What You Probably Don't Know About This Small Island's Creative Impact In the World

Icelandic musicians like Björk, Of Monsters and Men, and Sigur Rós have contributed to the Icelandic music scene’s place on the world stage. They have also perhaps contributed to a stereotype of Icelandic music that does not represent the whole music scene. Since Iceland does not have a strong pop-music genre, the sheer diversity of talents contributes to many different genres including hip-hop, metal, and indie rock is inspiring in itself. With so many music festivals offered on the island each year that attract international acts and visitors, the music scene is becoming more of a cultural export.

Icelandic literature has also been extremely prolific. Iceland’s only Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Halldór Laxness, was one of the most important Icelandic writers in the 20th century and many say that he gave Icelanders the confidence to not only write but believe that what they wrote would be read. Recently, crime fiction authors such as Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Arnaldur Indriðason have become well known for their spell-binding works that have been translated into many languages. The statistic in Iceland is that one in ten Icelanders will publish a book in their lifetime. Also, Iceland supposedly has more writers, per head, than any other country in the world.

The Icelandic film industry has also been very prolific in recent years, especially with the influx of directors using Iceland’s incredible landscapes and the ample summer daylight as backdrops in their films. Icelandic film directors such as Baltasar Kormákur have also been influential abroad.

In the visual arts, Ragnar Kjartansson, has had many prominent exhibitions abroad and is perhaps the most well known Icelandic performance artist. Also, the amount of galleries and artist spaces in such a small country is astounding, and new ones pop up very steadily. When visiting Iceland, it is, of course, obvious to see how one could be endlessly inspired creatively by the landscape with its epic variety and expansiveness.