Hrísey, Iceland

Why artists go to Hrísey

Hrísey is a small island sitting in Eyjafjörður, off Iceland’s north coast, not far from the Arctic Circle. You go there for focus, not for a packed gallery calendar. Think quiet streets, a small fishing village, long horizons, bird calls, and that particular northern light that makes even a foggy day feel charged.

The draw for artists is simple:

• Deep focus – Minimal distractions, few commercial temptations, and a slow daily rhythm.
• Landscape and light – Mountains across the fjord, shifting weather, and dramatic seasonal light conditions.
• Small-scale community – A couple of hundred residents, so you quickly become “the artist” people recognize and talk to.
• Remote but reachable – You feel far from everything, but Akureyri is a ferry and a drive away if you need a city reset.

Hrísey does not function as an urban arts district. There are no rows of galleries or concept stores. The residency, the local museum, and community spaces are the cultural anchors. If you are looking for a production retreat where you can think, write, sketch, prototype, and occasionally share work with a small audience, Hrísey makes sense.

The Old School – Hrísey: the main residency

The core reason artists land on Hrísey is the Old School Art House, often listed under names like The Old School – Hrísey, Old School Art House, or Gamli Skóli. It is owned by the art group Nordanbal and runs as a sustainable, non-profit residency.

What the Old School offers

The residency is housed in the village’s former school building and is set up in a straightforward, practical way:

• Bedrooms: Four independent bedrooms, usually one artist per room.
• Working space: Shared working area for about three artists or groups; some descriptions mention private studio rooms that are still in close proximity, so expect semi-shared studio culture.
• Shared facilities: Living room combined with kitchen, shower, washing machine, television, basic library.
• Connectivity: Wireless internet throughout the house.
• What is not there: No specialized technical facilities listed. No heavy fabrication gear, print shop, darkroom, pottery kilns, or media labs.

The Old School is designed for you to bring your practice with you. If your work fits in a suitcase, a portfolio bag, or on a laptop, you are in the sweet spot. If you need welding rigs, industrial printers, or a full dance company’s tech setup, you are better off using Hrísey as a research/writing phase rather than a final-production site.

Who the residency suits

The Old School is a good match if you:

• Work in visual arts, writing, sound, performance, or interdisciplinary practices that can adapt to a simple studio.
• Like self-directed residencies without heavy programming or hand-holding.
• Enjoy sharing space with a handful of other artists and do not need total isolation.
• Are comfortable with rural, quiet places and capricious northern weather.

It is less ideal if you:

• Need daily, in-person access to curators, dealers, or big institutions.
• Rely on complex technical setups, fabrication labs, or specialized staff.
• Prefer a nightlife or festival energy around you while you work.

Residency rhythm and public presence

Artists often stay for about a month at a time, sometimes longer. The program tends to be self-guided, with occasional elements like:

• Small workshops, sometimes involving local children or community members.
• Informal exhibitions or open-studio events within the Old School building.
• Process sharings, talks, or screenings arranged ad hoc between residents and locals.

The Old School can flex between being a quiet retreat and a lightly public-facing venue, depending on who is there and what projects are underway. If you want to propose a workshop or open studio, the scale of the island makes it easy to coordinate and communicate.

What daily life on Hrísey looks like

Hrísey is small enough that you can cross significant sections of it on foot. Most of your life will orbit around the village near the harbor, where the ferry docks and where the Old School is located.

Shops, food, and errands

The island has a very limited set of services. Expect:

• A tiny store for basics – useful, but not a full supermarket.
• Limited restaurant/café options, which may have unpredictable hours, especially off-season.
• No art supply shop – bring materials, tools, or at least a good plan for obtaining them via Akureyri or online.

You will cook a lot, share meals with the other residents, and get used to planning your grocery runs around the ferry timetable. This can be grounding for your work: fewer choices, more structure, clearer time blocks.

Nature and walking routes

The island is known as a bird sanctuary, especially for ptarmigan and other nesting species, and the northern part is a privately owned nature reserve. Access to certain areas can require permission from the landowner, so treat the landscape as both a resource and a responsibility.

For your practice, this means:

• Easy access to short and mid-length walks for sketching, field recording, photography, or just clearing your head.
• A visual vocabulary of sea, mountains, changing skies, and bird activity that can filter into your work.
• Plenty of material for environmentally engaged, site-specific, or observational practices.

There is also a small geothermal pool, which can be a welcome break on long studio days and a low-key social point for meeting locals.

Community and cultural life

Hrísey’s population hovers around a couple of hundred residents. This creates a particular social dynamic for visiting artists:

• You are visible, so your presence matters; people recognize you quickly.
• Small informal encounters carry weight – chats at the shop, on the ferry, or on walking paths.
• The island’s museum and community spaces can become extensions of your research, especially if you work with local histories, fishing culture, or rural life.

Instead of chasing openings, you might be:

• Running a one-day workshop in the Old School.
• Showing work-in-progress to neighbors and fellow artists in your shared studio.
• Documenting the island’s rhythms as material for future exhibitions elsewhere.

Studios, work modes, and sharing space

Studio culture at the Old School is built around shared working areas. You are not sealed off in a private warehouse; you hear other people making, thinking, pacing, and editing.

How the studios function

Based on residency descriptions and artist accounts, expect:

• Desks or tables that can be rearranged.
• Space for easels, small setups, and laptops.
• Enough wall space for pinning up drawings, photographs, or notes.
• A mutual agreement about noise, mess, and the feel of the room.

This environment tends to support:

• Drawing, painting, small sculpture, text-based work.
• Digital practices: video editing, sound editing, animation, etc., as long as your equipment is portable.
• Performance and movement research that does not require a full theatre rig.

If you need complete quiet for recording, bring good headphones and maybe a portable recorder with directional mics so you can use outdoor spaces during low-wind windows. For messy work, plan ahead: floor protection, tarps, or working outside on suitable days.

Costs, logistics, and visas

Budgeting for a Hrísey stay

Iceland, including Hrísey, is not cheap, even if the residency itself runs on a non-profit model. Before you go, clarify with the Old School team what is covered and what is not:

• Residency fees – What is the monthly or weekly cost, if any?
• Application or confirmation fees – Is there a small non-refundable payment to secure your spot?
• Included amenities – Housing, studio, utilities, and Wi-Fi are typically part of the package, but always confirm.
• Food – Usually self-catered; budget carefully, as groceries in Iceland run high.
• Materials – Either ship them in advance, bring them in your luggage, or be prepared to do a supply run via Akureyri.

A rough mental model that helps: think of Hrísey as a focused work retreat in a relatively high-cost country, but without big-city temptations draining your wallet every night.

Getting there and getting around

Your path usually looks like this:

• Travel to Akureyri (by domestic flight from Reykjavík or by road).
• Continue by road to Ásskógssandur, the small harbor on the mainland.
• Take the ferry to Hrísey; the crossing takes about 15 minutes.

Ferry schedules change with the season, and winter crossings can be affected by weather, so always check current information before planning tight connections. Once on the island, you can walk pretty much everywhere. A bike can be useful but is not essential.

Visa basics

Iceland is part of the Schengen Area. If you are not an Icelandic or EEA/EU/Swiss citizen, your stay will be shaped by Schengen rules for short stays or local residence permit regulations for longer periods.

Before confirming a residency slot, check:

• The total length of your stay, including extra days before or after the residency.
• Whether your nationality requires a Schengen visa.
• What kind of documentation the residency can provide (invitation letters, contracts).
• Whether any stipends, honoraria, or paid teaching you might do require a different type of permit.

The safest approach is to verify requirements through the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration and the nearest Icelandic embassy or consulate, and then line that up with the residency’s own information before booking tickets.

Seasons, light, and timing your residency

Choosing when to be in Hrísey has a big impact on your experience, especially if your work interacts with light, weather, or community life.

Late spring to early autumn

This period tends to offer:

• Milder temperatures and easier ferry travel.
• Long days, especially in summer, with extended twilight and very short nights.
• Better conditions for walking, birdwatching, photography, and outdoor sketching.
• More visible community life and potential for casual encounters.

If your work depends on light, outdoor performance, or field recording, this is usually the most practical season.

Autumn and winter

These seasons give you:

• Shorter, moodier days and long nights, useful for introspective or studio-heavy projects.
• Harsher weather, with potential ferry delays and sudden changes in conditions.
• A stronger sense of isolation, which can be a gift or a challenge depending on your temperament.

Winter stays make sense if you are intentionally working with darkness, storms, or winter-specific phenomena and are comfortable with the logistics of remote living in that period.

Connecting beyond the island

While Hrísey itself is about quiet making, you are not completely cut off from broader arts networks.

Akureyri as your regional hub

Akureyri is the closest city and functions as a practical and cultural hub:

• Access to more diverse shops, including better options for materials and equipment.
• Museums, galleries, and cultural institutions where you can see work and meet other artists.
• Cafés and public spaces for planning, writing, or meeting collaborators.

Using Akureyri as a gateway, you can also connect your Hrísey project to other Icelandic residencies, especially if you want to extend your stay in the country and compare different working environments.

Is Hrísey right for your practice?

Hrísey suits artists who are ready to slow down, work consistently, and be honest about what they actually need to make progress. It is a strong fit if you:

• Want time to write, plan, storyboard, or prototype a larger project.
• Are developing work around landscape, ecology, climate, or remote communities.
• Enjoy small-group living and are comfortable sharing common spaces.
• Do not need constant external validation or big events to feel your work is moving forward.

You might be less satisfied if you are craving fast-paced openings, studio visits every week, or access to extensive technical infrastructure. In that case, Hrísey can still work as a first phase: research, writing, and ideation there, with later production and exhibition steps in a more resourced setting.

How to make the most of a Hrísey residency

A few practical strategies can help you squeeze the most out of your time on the island:

• Arrive with a flexible but clear project frame – Know what you want to focus on, but leave space for the island’s weather, light, and people to shift your plans.
• Pack smart – Prioritize tools and materials that are hard to replace locally. Bring backups for essentials like hard drives, chargers, and basic drawing or note-taking supplies.
• Design your daily rhythm – For example, mornings in the studio, afternoons for walks or fieldwork, evenings for reading, editing, or experiments.
• Use the shared space – Arrange informal crits, reading circles, or screenings with fellow residents. This small community is one of the strongest assets of the Old School.
• Plan your exit – Think about how you will carry the work forward after leaving: a publication, exhibition, online sharing, or a second residency elsewhere to produce final pieces.

Handled well, a Hrísey residency can become a pivot point: a concentrated stretch of time that quietly shifts the scale or depth of your work, anchored in a small Arctic island with a single, well-placed Old School at its heart.