Solvellir, Iceland

Why Solvellir is on artists’ radar

Solvellir isn’t a city in the usual sense. Think small settlement in the Icelandic Westfjords: a wide fjord, mountains, big sky, and more sheep and seabirds than humans. The draw here isn’t galleries or nightlife; it’s uninterrupted studio time and a close relationship with weather, light, and landscape.

The main reason artists come is the Solvellir Arts Residency, housed in a modernist villa that used to be a school. The fjord is effectively the backyard, and the entire setup is designed as a quiet, self-directed environment: large atelier, communal areas for cross-pollination, and private rooms where you can shut the door and go deep into your project.

If your work feeds off solitude, long walks, and atmospheric changes rather than urban bustle, Solvellir is worth putting in your Iceland residency mix.

Solvellir Arts Residency: what you actually get

Solvellir Arts Residency is the main cultural anchor here. Almost everything about the local “scene” revolves around it, so it’s useful to picture how life would work around this one building and the fjord it sits on.

The house and studio setup

The residency lives in a spacious modernist villa that used to function as a school. That history shapes the floor plan:

• Atelier on the first floor: This is the former classroom: a large, luminous, mostly empty room. It’s flexible enough for painting, drawing, small object work, writing, performance research, or rehearsals. You bring the content; the space gives you light and volume.
• Hall for shows and experiments: The old entry hall where students used to gather now works as an exhibition or event space. You can set up small shows, readings, work-in-progress sharings, or performance trials without needing a formal white-cube gallery.
• Multiple rooms: The house includes several rooms that can function as bedrooms, side studios, or quiet writing spaces. Expect a mix of privacy and shared life, with doors you can close when you need to disappear into your work.
• Communal kitchen: There’s a shared kitchen where you cook, talk, and swap project updates. Meal times are often the main social structure in remote residencies, so assume this is where you’ll get most of your daily human contact.
• Relaxation areas: Lounge-style spaces where people read, plan, or just stare at the fjord. These matter more than they sound; in a small residency, having somewhere to be that isn’t your bed or your desk keeps you sane.

Outside, the plot is large: roughly 3000 m² of private land, plus beach and mountains beyond. That gives you room for site-specific installations, outdoor photography, or simply a daily walking loop that frames your studio day.

Who the residency is designed for

The residency is multidisciplinary. Based on available descriptions and categories, it supports:

• Visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, installation)
• Textile and craft-based practices
• Performance, dance, and theater research
• Writing and other desk-based work

The program is self-directed, so you need to arrive with a sense of what you’re doing. No one will fill your schedule for you. It suits artists who are comfortable with:

• Independent work and self-managed deadlines
• Limited external validation while you’re there
• Building casual community with a small group rather than formal networking

If you want crits, workshops, and constant public events, this isn’t that kind of residency. If you want a blank calendar and a big room to fill with your own process, it fits.

Daily rhythm you can expect

A typical day at Solvellir usually ends up looking something like this:

• Morning: Slow start, breakfast in the communal kitchen, quick check-in with whoever’s around, then into the atelier or your own room.
• Daytime: Studio work, long blocks of time with minimal interruption. Breaks often mean walking down to the shore or up into the surrounding fields for fresh air.
• Evening: Cooking, shared meals, occasional screenings, quiet conversation. On some nights, informal sharing of works-in-progress in the hall or studio.

The rhythm is quiet, with the option to sync up with other residents when you want social contact. There’s no obligation to produce a final exhibition, though the hall makes it easy if you want to.

Why artists pick Solvellir over Reykjavík residencies

Solvellir slots into the broader Iceland residency scene as the retreat option. You trade gallery density and event calendars for:

• Strong immersion in a single, dramatic landscape
• Big studio space with minimal distractions
• A small, focused peer group instead of a large institutional program

If your main goal is networking, daily exhibition visits, and consistent openings, a Reykjavík-based residency is stronger. If you’re wrestling with a big project or want to reset your practice, Solvellir gives you that off-grid feeling while still being connected to an organised program.

Planning your stay: money, logistics, and timing

Remote residencies work best when you treat planning as part of the project. Solvellir is no exception: the more you think through logistics in advance, the freer you’ll be to actually work once you arrive.

Budgeting: what to expect in Iceland

Iceland is generally expensive, and rural areas don’t always mean cheaper. Plan for:

• Groceries: Cheaper than eating out, but still not low-cost. You’ll likely cook most meals at the residency; factor in shared basics (oil, spices, coffee) and your own specific needs.
• Transport: Flights plus domestic travel to the Westfjords region. Car hire, buses, or residency-arranged pickup can all come into play. If you rent a car, include fuel, which can be pricey.
• Art materials: Access to specialised supplies may be limited locally. Bringing key materials with you can help, as long as they are allowed through customs and within baggage limits.
• Extras: Occasional café stop in a nearby town, side trips, or museum/galleries if you head towards more populated areas before or after your stay.

Residencies can change their fees and what they include, so always cross-check the official Solvellir Arts Residency site or listing for current details on what’s covered (housing, studio, utilities) and what isn’t.

Getting there and getting around

The journey usually looks like this:

• International leg: Fly into Keflavík International Airport.
• Transfer to the mainland network: Travel to Reykjavík, usually by bus or shuttle, then onward towards the Westfjords.
• Regional travel: Options can include domestic flights to a regional airport plus ground travel, or a longer road trip via Iceland’s road system.

In remote areas, buses can be infrequent and sometimes seasonal. A car gives you flexibility, especially if you want to explore nearby landscapes or towns on rest days. If driving isn’t an option, ask the residency:

• Which route past residents usually take
• Typical pickup points and times
• Public transport options for your arrival time

Road conditions vary by season. Winters in the Westfjords can be intense, with snow, ice, and limited daylight. If you’re not used to winter driving, consider shoulder seasons or coordinate carefully with the residency before committing to self-driving in colder months.

When to go, based on your practice

The “right” season depends on what you want your days to feel like.

• Late spring to early autumn: Longer days, often easier road conditions, more chances to work or research outdoors. Good for photography, plein air work, or any practice that depends on visibility and movement.
• Autumn: Rich, shifting light and weather, a bit more drama without the full force of deep winter. Can be great if your work tracks seasonal transitions.
• Winter: Short days, long nights, cold, and a strong feeling of isolation. This can be powerful if you want to work inward, write, or explore themes of darkness, time, and stillness. Logistics are tougher, so build in flexibility.

The main thing is to match season with project: light-sensitive work, site-specific photography, or performance research outside will benefit from more daylight; text-heavy or inward-focused projects can thrive in winter.

Solvellir in the wider Iceland residency map

It helps to position Solvellir in relation to other Iceland residencies, especially if you’re thinking about combining locations in one trip.

How Solvellir compares to other Iceland programs

Across Iceland you’ll find a spectrum:

• Urban and structured: Programs in Reykjavík with closer ties to galleries, universities, and festivals. These often offer more events, talks, and clear public-facing outcomes.
• Regional art centers: Places like Skaftfell Art Center in Seyðisfjörður, which offer residencies with a clear local art ecosystem, libraries, and connections to regional festivals and print workshops.
• Remote and self-directed: Residencies like NES in Skagaströnd or small-town programs where the main features are studio, housing, and landscape.

Solvellir clearly sits in the remote / self-directed bracket, with a strong nature focus and a single building as the core infrastructure. For some artists, that’s the main selling point.

Using Solvellir as part of a larger Iceland project

You can use a stay in Solvellir as one component of a bigger arc:

• Phase 1 – Research and immersion: Time in Solvellir to gather material, write, draft, and experiment in isolation.
• Phase 2 – Urban engagement: Follow up with a stay in Reykjavík to meet curators, visit galleries, and share work-in-progress.
• Phase 3 – Reflection: Use time back home or at a different residency to shape what came out of Iceland into an exhibition, publication, or performance.

Thinking this way helps you avoid putting pressure on Solvellir to deliver everything: it becomes the deep-focus chapter in a longer process.

Community, open studios, and showing work

Solvellir does not sit inside a dense arts neighborhood, so your main community will be:

• Other residents in the house
• Residency organisers or local hosts
• Occasional visitors or nearby neighbours, depending on the season

You can still share your work:

• Use the hall as a makeshift gallery for small exhibitions
• Host informal open studios or sharings for fellow residents and invited guests
• Document everything well so you can present the residency outcomes in more formal contexts later

The key is treating public engagement as something you design yourself, not something the residency structures for you.

Practical prep: visas, materials, and project design

Once you’re set on Solvellir or seriously considering it, a bit of prep goes a long way.

Visa and paperwork basics

Iceland is in the Schengen Area, so your entry conditions depend on your passport and how long you plan to stay. Before applying or booking:

• Check if you need a Schengen visa and how long you’re allowed to stay in the zone.
• Confirm your passport validity (usually at least several months beyond your stay).
• Ask the residency if they provide any official letters for visa support or funding applications.
• Consider travel insurance that covers medical care and trip changes, especially in winter.

The residency will usually expect you to manage your own visa process, so build the timelines for that into your planning.

What to pack for making work

Because you’re in a remote setting, it helps to arrive with a realistic kit for your practice. Consider:

• Core tools: The things you use constantly and can’t easily replace (specific brushes, cameras, drawing tools, laptop, hard drives).
• Materials: Lightweight, flexible supplies that pack easily: paper, smaller canvases, thread, notebooks, or digital equipment you can expand on locally if needed.
• Clothing for studio and outdoors: Layers, waterproof outerwear, proper footwear. You’ll likely move between studio and outdoors often, especially for breaks and research.
• Adapters and tech: Power adapters, chargers, backup storage. Connectivity matters when you’re far from shops.

If your work relies on heavy or fragile materials, consider adapting your project for the residency: focus on drawing, writing, small-scale studies, or digital components that you can later translate into larger work at home.

Designing a project that fits Solvellir

Projects tend to work best at Solvellir when they acknowledge the conditions of the place:

• Landscape-sensitive: Work that responds to light shifts, weather, or the fjord environment, even indirectly.
• Process-oriented: Projects that benefit from extended thinking time and experiments, not just production of finished pieces.
• Scalable: Ideas that can live as sketches, notes, or prototypes during the residency and then grow into larger works later.

When planning your application, be concrete: describe how the solitude, the studio space, or the outdoor surroundings will feed your process. Residency panels are often drawn to artists who clearly understand what they’re asking of the space and what they’ll give back to it.

Is Solvellir right for you?

Solvellir suits artists who want to trade city energy for fjord light, studio space, and a small, self-motivated community. It’s a good fit if you:

• Crave concentrated time on a specific body of work
• Like remote settings and are comfortable with quiet
• Can structure your own days without external prompts
• Want nature to be more than just a backdrop

If you need constant events, large-scale production facilities, or a wide professional network at your doorstep, you’ll likely be happier basing yourself in Reykjavík or at a larger art center. But if you’re looking for a place where the fjord is your garden, the studio used to be a classroom, and your main obligation is to your work, Solvellir Arts Residency is worth a serious look.