An International Conference on Urban Planning and Art in Public Space will be held on Friday, 25 April and Saturday, 10 May in the Nordic House, Reykjavík

As cranes and pulleys are in constant motion over Reykjavík’s Old Harbour and, not so far away, construction has begun on the new and celebrated music hall, residents and visitors in Iceland cannot help but notice the changing face of the city’s waterfront. Once reserved for trade and industry and now transforming into a stage for corporate and cultural activities alike, the restructuring of the harbour is both literal and symbolic: Reykjavík is reinventing itself, refreshing its image, rethinking what it means for individuals and businesses to operate in and engage with its public urban space. And Iceland’s capital is but one of numerous port cities worldwide undergoing these constant metamorphoses as international trade, tourism, and contemporary culture put ever-changing demands on urban development in a global context.

Addressing the evolving identity of Reykjavík in particular and port towns in general, CIA.IS is collaborating with the Iceland Academy of the Arts and the Nordic House in organizing the international conference Reinventing Harbour Cities: Urban Planning and Art in Public Space. The two-part conference, to be held Friday, 25 April and Saturday, 10 May at the Nordic House in Reykjavík, will bring together renowned architects, urban planners, artists and academics from Europe and North America to discuss urban development and the role of art in public space in harbour cities. The lineup of prestigious speakers includes artists/designers Ólafur Elíasson (Berlin, Copenhagen) and Vito Acconci (New York); architects and landscape architects Kjetil Thorsen of Snøhetta (Oslo) and Adriaan Geuze of West 8 (Rotterdam); Ute Meta Bauer, Associate Professor and Director of the Visual Arts Program at MIT (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and Jürgen Bruns-Berentelg, CEO of HafenCity Hamburg.

With the aims of furthering Iceland’s participation in an international discourse about the future of port cities, the Reinventing Harbour Cities conference will draw together municipal leaders, private developers and investors, as well as representatives from the media, the arts community, and the community at large. From multiple perspectives, the conference seeks to examine the roles that art, artists, and designers play in international urban development, and to widen local dialogue on shared visions for what Reykjavík is and what it is becoming.

Reinventing Harbour Cities is made possible with the generous support of Goethe-Institut, Radisson SAS 1919 Hotel and 101Hotel. The conference is free and open to the public.

For more information, please visit the conference website.

Shauna Laurel jones