It's dark in Reykjavík, though every week now brings a little more daylight. There is no gloom on the art scene, however an as Steingrímur Eyfjörð's exhibition from last year's Venice Biennale comes home the Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland becomes one of the first nations to announce which artist will be sent to Venice 2009. Ragnar Kjartansson, seen above in a recent video performance, is the youngest artist to be selected from Iceland but has already built up an impressive roster of exhibitions and striking, highly personal artwork.

2008 will be an unusually busy year on the Icelandic art scene with large projects planned in Iceland and abroad. The Reykjavík Arts Festival will have a special focus on the visual arts this year, hopfully recreating the wonderfully energetic spirit of the 2005 festival when the visual arts were highlighted for the first time with exhibitions in almost every venue in the country, including the huge retrospective of Dieter Roth's works that filled the better parts of both the Reykjavík Art Museum and the National Gallery. The year also marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Living Arts Museum, which will celebrate with an ambitious programme focused on its history and the museum's underdocumented but remarkably extensive collection. Abroad, the largest single event is undoubtably the four-month festival of Icelandic art and culture being opened in Brussels in February.

Looking forward to all this activity, we have also taken the time to remember one of Iceland's best-loved artists, Birgir Andésson, who passed away this autumn in the prime of life.