There is nothing like a good volcanic eruption to revive the spirit and this month the Icelanders cheered as one broke out in a mountain pass between two glaciers in Southern Iceland. It’s not a major eruption, which is why we feel safe in welcoming it as a break in the routine, and somehow it seems like a timely reaffirmation of vital energy – much needed amid the energy-draining troubles that have plagued the nation for the last two years. The Icelanders seem to feel such close affinity with the volatile island they inhabit that even geological events take on social and cultural significance. This one, with lava plumes shooting hundreds of metres into the air and hot molten rock flowing down from the mountain onto the lowlands, sends just the right message: We’re not done yet; we still have some kick in us!

On the art scene, we look forward to a different kind of eruption when the Reykjavík Arts festival begins in May, this time with a focus on the photographic arts. This is the first time that photography is given such a high profile with concentrated exhibitions of both Icelandic and international artists. In this issue of List we also report on the selection of Iceland’s representatives at the 2011 Venice Biennale, the artist duo of Libia Castro and Ólafur Ólafsson, whose careers we have followed in List for the last five years. We also welcome a new director to the Centre for Icelandic Art, Dorothée Kirch, and take leave of former director Christian Schoen with an interview on his years with the Center.

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List: Icelandic Art News is published by the Center for Icelandic Art, a cooperative project of Iceland's museums and artists' organisations. List is edited by Christian Schoen and Jón Proppé. If you wish not to receive announcements of our new issues - or you want to contact us for any other reason - please send a mail to list@cia.is.