Everyone knows that Iceland is one of the best places in the world to be a woman, or to be queer, or even to be a creative. If you didn\u2019t know, now you do: according to X<\/a>, Y<\/a>, and Z<\/a> studies. So, goals accomplished, right? Well\u2026no. When you begin to really look\u00a0<\/strong>at, and challenge the acceptance of these rankings, cracks begin to form, and we are reminded once again that the romantic vision of a \u201cutopia\u201d remains in our imaginations.<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, despite Reykjav\u00edk capturing the number 1 ranking for the most accepting city for LGBTQ+ identifying folks, laws and regulations protecting these very same people drops down to a ranking of number 11<\/a>, a recent increase from its number 14 spot.<\/p>\n The harm in numbers like these first studies is that they create a false sense of competency, which prevents actionable steps toward continued progression. Social acceptance only goes so far, but its widespread presence is a testament that further legitimizes the need for legal backing.<\/p>\n The Nordic Gender-Equality Paradox introduces this idea within the realities of gender equality in the consistently top-ranking Nordic countries. Iceland included. It argues that even with immense welfare support, and progressive social attitudes, women continue to be left out of the highest positions of power. Gender norms likely play a role in this discrepancy, with studies showing men are socialized to be confident and ambitious, whereas women are socialized to be self-doubting and overly modest. And normative systems are so tied to the gender binary that anyone outside of these two gender identities is hardly ever considered, even in studies like these.<\/p>\n Applying the arguments of the Nordic Gender-Equality Paradox to the arts in Iceland reveals that the statistics are slowly improving, with more and more director positions in the arts being filled by women in Iceland. In 2010, three of the major public arts institutions in Iceland were directed by women. Those institutions were the National Theatre, the Reykjav\u00edk Arts Festival, and the Icelandic Dance Company. Today in 2022, only one institution, the National Theatre, is directed by a man. The Reykjav\u00edk Despite this proportion having grown significantly during this time period, many of these women are the first female director appointed to lead their institutions. If not the first, they are only one out of a small handful. This is just the beginning of varied and accurate representation in the arts.<\/p>\n While the paradox is introduced through gender, this mentality is arguably continued amongst other dynamics here in Iceland, and issues of POC, individuals with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, and the aforementioned LGBTQ+ causes should be treated with a similar attitude that things could always be improved. As these shifts in art leadership have proven, structural change is attainable. The art scene can and should more accurately reflect Icelandic society by hiring more representative teams behind-the-scenes, realizing and funding projects by a diverse range of artists, holding these artworks in significant proportions within their collections, and ensuring that arts education is supportive and accessible for all.<\/p>\n The first step to breaking these inconsistencies is to acknowledge the problem in the first place. Every individual identifies with many different identities, whether it\u2019s race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, class, or even profession and hobbies and it is through this acknowledgment of diversity and intersectionality that allows you to stop viewing others as one-dimensional. This is exactly what Rebecca Hidalgo, Eva Bj\u00f6rk, and Chaiwe S\u00f3l did when conceiving R.E.C. Arts Reykjav\u00edk, a collective of workshops that seeks to promote diversity in the arts, especially in their own field of performing arts. Don\u2019t be mistaken, R.E.C. Arts Reykjav\u00edk often acknowledges the privileges of living and working in Iceland and gives credit where it\u2019s due. But they noticed that these advantages often left out experiences similar to their own, and of their wide-ranging community in Reykjav\u00edk. In this interview with Amanda Poorvu, R.E.C Arts Reykjav\u00edk gives insight into the origins of the project, their mission, and where they are headed next.<\/p>\n R.E.C Arts Reykjav\u00edk<\/strong>\u00a0is a creative team & collective founded in late 2021 by\u00a0Rebecca Hidalgo<\/em>,\u00a0Eva Bj\u00f6rk<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Chaiwe S\u00f3l<\/em>. Their mission is to bring diversity, visibility, and representation of marginalized groups living in Iceland to mainstream theatre, dance, music, and art scenes. They aim to build and provide a platform to uplift minority voices; host workshops for those 18+ who identify as being from a minority background; and encourage empathy and change through education, discussion, art, and storytelling. They are on facebook and instagram at @recartsrvk and you can email them at recartsrvk@gmail.com for consulting, collaborating and creating work, or sharing the work of artists from minority backgrounds living in Iceland.<\/p>\n This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.<\/p>\n Amanda Poorvu: Hi Chaiwe, Eva, and Rebecca, Congratulations on the launch and success of R.E.C (pronounced: REC) Arts Reykjav\u00edk! Let\u2019s start from the beginning? How did this project come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rebecca Hidalgo:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, we started writing a super political musical. We applied to direct it and make it at a high school here, and we got turned down. We also realized it was probably for the best because our musical was very political: about minorities, about diversity\u2026and the school was very not diverse\u2013<\/p>\n Eva Bj\u00f6rk:<\/strong>\u00a0It was one of the most privileged schools.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013and they happen to have a lot of funding for the arts program. But we saw the importance of still doing it. We said, \u201cokay there are minority artists in Iceland to do this, but there are so many that are not being built up, that do not have a platform, so we need to start from scratch.\u201d Rather than writing the musical and hiring professionals to be in it, we want to hire both professionals and amateurs. We need to train these people; we need to find these people. How do we find these people?<\/p>\n Chaiwe S\u00f3l:<\/strong>\u00a0Also, just the lack the diverse representation is what got to us. We found a mutual ground within ourselves living here in Iceland, and our experiences. And we were just like, \u201cPeople need to hear us, people need to hear what we\u2019re experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0I also think the arts are missing everything that is not\u2013how do you say it?<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Mainstream<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, mainstream. In my family, there are people with disabilities and they are kind of tossed aside. There is so much that we could do.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s one of our main goals and missions because like I said, all three of us come from very different backgrounds, we all live in Iceland, two of us have lived in Iceland for a majority of their lives, and\u2013<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0One of us is adopted black Icelandic, working in education and theater.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Queer foreign Latina.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0[I\u2019m working] in a man\u2019s world.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0All of the above.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0(points to herself and Chaiwe) single moms.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013we are all very different people living in Iceland. That\u2019s still rarely seen, at least in mainstream media. There are a lot of great works happening but those works are not being built up or funded as they should be.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0We were like, \u201cWhat are we going to do about it?\u201d so we got together and conducted this group. Instead of telling our stories, we wanted to have people tell their stories themselves. That led us to R.E.C Arts and the workshops.<\/p>\n Your mission statement states that you aim to bring \u201cdiversity, visibility, access and representation\u201d to marginalized groups. In the workshops, we often talk about the importance of these terms. What do these words mean to you? And how do they differ from each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0I would say that diversity doesn\u2019t come in one form, so if you are going to [seek diversity], you have to look into all minorities. There is not one persona in each minority group.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0All the art stuff in Iceland that is available, theater, dance classes, etc. cost money. And certain minorities don\u2019t have access to that kind of money, which means they don\u2019t have access to that. We wanted to be able to find a way to open up that portal for people.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong> In terms of access, there are a few different ways that comes across. You have access purely in the physical, in the world of disabilities, access in having a sign language interpreter, and having wheelchair access, having seating for wheelchairs that are not behind a column or something like that. I do think Icelanders do a good job in that sense. Obviously, it could always be better.<\/p>\n There is access in nepotism. As Chaiwe was saying, there are not a lot of people of minority backgrounds out there with representation. They don\u2019t have a family member in the industry but have always wanted to be on stage. But then they see that there are a lot of walls put up, so they feel like they don\u2019t have access to the scene, and they get discouraged and don\u2019t go into it. Which then feeds into the lack of representation. in terms of visibility, it\u2019s pretty simple. Being seen. Having a minority on stage or on tv.<\/p>\n AP:<\/strong>\u00a0But not only in the background.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Exactly, not as a way to tick a box. That also comes with proper representation.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong> The right representation has to be presented. Like how single moms in theater or movies are always portrayed as smoking, drinking, and completely falling apart. Why can\u2019t we just represent single moms as someone who\u2019s hardworking? She\u2019s running a law firm and she\u2019s doing her thing. That does exist It\u2019s really sad when we have to fictionalize the minority to make it work for society. We are helping feed this society. As artists, we have to take responsibility for the stories that we\u2019re telling because by telling that story, whether it\u2019s to a little kid or to a grown-up, that person walks away thinking that is the truth. This is the truth that they stand by and the truth that they start to live by. If we don\u2019t change that truth to make it match the actual truth, we have a problem.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0If you are a minority, and you want to go to a class\u2013a dance class or whatever is going on\u2013it\u2019s also hard [to show up] if you are different. People don\u2019t always respect what is different, which is so sad because we can learn so much from each other. We don\u2019t learn when we are always the same.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0There has to be a balance of stories. There are deep ones, but that can\u2019t be all we tell [in order] to have diverse representation.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026the hairdresser, ghetto, Black girl; the single moms; the clich\u00e9 characters\u2026<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong> The cis, white, gay, best friend who is only interested in fashion, and doesn\u2019t actually have a storyline other than saying sassy lines, and being the sidekick. Queer characters are way more deep than that. Also, picking the correct people to play these characters. It\u2019s simply having an actual trans person play a trans character. Beyond that, the people behind-the-scenes matter with representation. That is the difference between visibility and representation. You can have a person of color on stage, but if they are the only person of color, and the director, choreographer, makeup team, producer, and everybody else is white, then it is whitewashed. I know from my experience, being one of the only minorities in a production, I did feel at one point like the annoying person. [Either] always calling things out or being like, \u201cUgh this is not my place, I don\u2019t have the energy for that today.\u201d<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0The minority is tired of always speaking up, and what is happening is that the majority is just not aware of what\u2019s really happening, and how it affects the other person. For us, that is where we can see our niche. We want to bring awareness.<\/p>\n While your workshops have individual themes, R.E.C. Arts Reykjav\u00edk is open to all definitions of minorities, including POC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, Refugee and Immigrant folks, etc. because all of these identities are interconnected on an intersectional level. How does this shape the kinds of discussions you are having?<\/strong><\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I think it comes with openness.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s quite beautiful to see the stories actually evolving. We have a storytelling game where you have a ball, and then you say a word, and somebody else says another word or shares something that connects to it. It\u2019s amazing to see that we have created a space where people allow themselves to be so vulnerable and genuine and dig so deep. If one person sees [another] person doing that, it\u2019s almost like a snowball<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0A lot of it comes from the three of us being very open from the beginning. I think at the beginning of our online workshops, we were being very open about who we are, and where we come from. Then that allows people to come in. I think one of the most beautiful things we\u2019ve seen during our storytelling exercises is people finding common ground with each other.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0We always said that we wanted to create a family. When people walk in, we want them to feel like, \u201cI\u2019m going to see these people, and they are my family. They are going to accept me for who I am. For these three hours, we are going to be having a good time.\u201d Somehow, we have managed to create that for people.<\/p>\n Iceland has a small, tight-knit population and is often considered a progressive \u201cutopia\u201d in regard to many social justice issues, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. Yet this has created a contradiction, called the Nordic Gender-Equality Paradox, which can lead to a lack of policy or legislation when it seems like there is no problem to begin with. You don\u2019t challenge things when you think they are successful. How has this shown up in the arts here? What structures would you like to see put in place to strive toward equality?<\/strong><\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Our mission when we call out institutions is to do it in an educational way. Not saying, \u201cHere\u2019s why you\u2019re bad.\u201d but adding, \u201c\u2026and here\u2019s how you can do better.\u201d<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0The best way to get respect is to respect others, so we do respect everyone. It\u2019s human nature. We\u2019re not saying anybody is mean, but once we have educated you and you still don\u2019t want to turn the page, that\u2019s when we can say, \u201cOh, okay, so you just don\u2019t want change.\u201d<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0Everybody deserves a chance.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ve heard people say, \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m qualified to come to these workshops, but can I?\u201d and they happen to be a cis, white, woman or a cis, straight, woman. I\u2019m like, \u201cWe don\u2019t advertise it, but by being a woman, you are still considered a minority.\u201d So, come and learn from others, and know your privilege, but also know that you can still complain. You have every right to complain. I think in Iceland, they\u2019ve been taught that \u201cPeople have it worse in other places.\u201d<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0I even think white, cis men who are queer, or people who have minority family members [can come]. Everybody that has this mindset is welcome, as long as you\u2019re not in that mood thinking you\u2019re better than others.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I think being a minority is also more of a political and systematic thing. Being a cis, white, straight male, in our eyes is the ultimate privilege. Of course, you can be a minority in a certain situation but in society, you are never one. You can walk on the streets safely by the way that you look. If you dress differently, that\u2019s a whole other thing but if you dress how society says is okay for a straight white male, you\u2019re safe. A lot of privilege is about safety. How you look is the first thing people see.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0It also does matter when people are in different work fields. I\u2019m a carpenter, [working] in a male field for 12 years and I very much feel like I have to work much, much harder to be allowed to hold a machine or something. It\u2019s like when you walk into a wall over and over again. And then you either stop trying, or you try to create a new way. I would say this is a new way we are trying to create.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0We always talk about the big theaters and the big media institutions. They are slowly changing, and things are being pushed, but it\u2019s like they don\u2019t see a need or reason to change things that have worked for 50-whatever years. They\u2019re ignoring the things that do need to be changed.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0They don\u2019t want to put in the effort. There is an effort that goes into change<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s like, what if airplane engineers were like \u201cLet\u2019s just do it the old way.\u201d<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I think an actual, productive way to change the structure in the arts and theater, in my opinion\u2013we\u2019ve discussed this as a group -is to have a quota. To have some sort of quota like, \u201cWe have to specifically hire artists of color, queer artists, artists of minority backgrounds\u201d to create work for these institutions. Not just a one-off, you have to have a certain amount every season. And not just one director, but a team of diverse people.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a theater company up in Akureyri and it\u2019s doing the show\u00a0Hair<\/em>, which takes place in the US in the 1960s, and a lot of the show has to deal with racial relations between African Americans and white Americans. [One of the] roles that they cast is meant for a woman of color and is being played by a white woman. You know, we want the Icelandic theater community to see this is not okay.<\/p>\n There are enough people of color here to be cast in these roles. We\u2019ve also heard in our workshops that as an actor, sometimes you feel like you don\u2019t have the authority to speak up because it\u2019s a job. So even though there is one actor of color in the show, whether or not he agrees with a white girl playing a role written for a black woman, it\u2019s still not his responsibility to speak up. Doing a show about a character of color and writing their roles out, that\u2019s called erasure. That\u2019s also not okay. Out of a thousand musical theater shows you could do\u2026 I would rather see a less trained person of color play the role than a trained white actor pretending to be that character.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0That just boils down to doing the right representation. If it\u2019s a black woman\u2019s story it has to be a black person playing it, a trans person\u2019s story has to be played by a trans person. It can\u2019t just be a random actor.<\/p>\n What would you say to someone who does not agree with quotas?<\/strong><\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0Excuse me, but the same truths have been told for how many years? Isn\u2019t it just time for a shift? Nobody is taking anything away from anybody. People want to go to the theater, but there are not that many plays out there that a lot of different people want to go to. One very big thing is that we pay taxes here for the theater. There is enough space for everyone. People need to stop thinking, \u201cIf you\u2019re going to take this spot, where am I going to sit?\u201d<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0I mean, the quota aspect is a little tricky because what is the right quota? It gets super complicated. But the idea of being open to some sort of quota starts this ideology. It doesn\u2019t have to be so written and so structured.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0If you think about it, if you go to a tryout for a play, they are always looking for something. It\u2019s already there. If you\u2019re blonde it\u2019s going to work, or you have dark hair it\u2019s gonna work. So, this quota is not overstepping what was already there before. It\u2019s just giving more variety.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0Versatility. If you\u2019re telling a story about a girl in Iceland, have everyone come and try out. And maybe you\u2019ll see something in that not-blonde-and-blue-eyed girl that\u2019s part Sri Lankan, part Icelandic, and speaks perfect Icelandic. I mean there also has to be an opportunity for these people We have to move with the times, and you can\u2019t just choose to exclude a whole population from your own population. It just doesn\u2019t make sense, it\u2019s not right. Aside from that, minorities are also a huge part of the people who are running our systems. So, they also deserve to have a platform for themselves. Just recently, they finally made a Polish play to call out to the Polish community, with Polish actors. I thought that was amazing. It\u2019s like, Polish people have been living here\u2013<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0For how long?<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0Exactly. That\u2019s amazing, but it shouldn\u2019t have to take 40 years for you to be able to see yourself on stage.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0It isn\u2019t a long-term thing. It\u2019s just a short-term solution with long-term goals. Then it will naturally happen. That\u2019s the goal.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0Also, the quota allows for different people to come together and learn about each other. That accessibility is so important. It\u2019s something we discuss with education where I say: a headmaster who doesn\u2019t have a foreign friend is less likely to think about the minority kids in our school and the issues that they could be experiencing. The ability to be able to know about minorities and their struggles opens up your mind. And that\u2019s what the quota would technically do.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0It takes effort when you have always tried to fit into the box, to step out. It takes a lot of courage. And I think the theater and the arts are beginning to open up to change. As soon as it is normalized in the media, it\u2019s conditioned in people.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Last year, an actress of color called the national theater out publicly on social media because they released a poster of all their house actors, and every single person in that photo was white. And from my knowledge, the majority of the people are also cis and straight. She was like \u201cI\u2019m not saying anything bad about these people, they are all my friends, but intuitionally, this needs to change.\u201d Granted, for this season they did hire a few more actors of color, but it still felt like tokenism.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0And \u201cbackgroundism\u201d<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0It was like \u201cThrow them in the background here. Oh, and let\u2019s make sure we get them for the poster this year!\u201d That\u2019s how it felt to me.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong> Not everybody owns up to their mistakes right away, but I always want to also look at the positive, that this is maybe the start of something. That it will roll the ball because we are now here to poke and poke and poke and poke. We have to reinforce this and keep going.<\/p>\n Discrimination in Iceland does not only appear as blatant aggression and exclusion but also in more subtle inequities or in a lack of opportunities. What are some of the examples of microaggressions in the art scene here that people might not be aware of? Do you have any personal experience with this that you can share?<\/strong><\/p>\n RH<\/strong>: From my experience working on a show at the theater, there was an incident of an actor wanting to do blackface in their role, and not understanding why that was not okay. [They then] directly asked only the people of color in the cast why it was not okay. There were some other things having to do with hair and makeup, with racial and cultural appropriation that I became the ambassador on, apparently. But again, they took it into account and did want to educate people after they had made the mistake. I\u2019m happy it became a teaching moment but if you have had a more diverse creative team, it wouldn\u2019t have had to be there.<\/p>\n Another thing is from a review that came out about a show. Out of the whole cast, there were three minorities, one of which is actually a pretty well-known actor in Iceland. The review mentioned every single other person\u2019s name on the cast and the creative team somewhere in the review. Every single person\u2019s name and the character they played, or the role that they played, except for the three (including myself) minorities. It was weird. Nobody from the creative team or the theater saw this and was like, \u201cYou forgot ____.\u201d As creatives, it is important for your records \u2013even if it\u2019s bad press, at least it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0Because you\u2019re constantly fighting your battles\u2026<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I was exhausted. I was like, \u201cThere are so many other things that are more important.\u201d<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0When to speak up? When not to speak up? When will this get me in trouble with my job? The tight-knit-ness [appears] as soon as you speak up. There are plenty of people who are like, \u201cI want to come to your workshops but I\u2019m scared because Iceland is so small.\u201d There is also that insecurity because it\u2019s a small population. If I were to give an example, I would say being spoken to in English when you walk into a store.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Even after you speak in Icelandic, that\u2019s the big one.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0No, no, having a whole conversation in Icelandic and they still continue to talk in English\u2026<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019ve been collaborating with the girls from Antirasictanir, and they\u2019re young and super brave and amazing. They have similar experiences to Chaiwe, and it\u2019s so crazy to see these young, Black girls in Iceland, who have lived here their whole lives and still are treated a certain way as if they are not part of the community.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0I mean there are a lot of little microaggressions we experience every day. [In theater] There is a lot of exploitation and tokenism, and taking away from people. Like, you want the story to be told but you are not giving homage and rights to people that have the story. Why are people doing this without consulting? Why is there a disconnect between taking from minorities and not feeling the need to fully give back?<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0Appropriation is when you take from a culture and use it for your own benefit and you don\u2019t either give back to the culture or acknowledge the culture and where it came from. You use it for profit or social media attention without actually acknowledging it. There are so many layers.<\/p>\n What kind of solutions to these, no matter how big or small, have you come up\u00a0<\/strong>with in your workshops?<\/strong><\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0The internet is there, it\u2019s free and there are so many resources. It is not always a Black person or a queer person or a minority\u2019s responsibility to do that labor and give you the information. Literally, google it. And one of the things that we\u2019re done is that we have created a resource document of different articles, and of people on social media who do this for a living. They put out education for free and for profit.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0We started as R.E.C. arts and we were like, \u201cHmm, should we become an agency?\u201d We can connect people to artists and dancers etc. and also make sure that when they do go to gigs, they get paid correctly and are represented correctly. That\u2019s what we mean by giving back to the community you are taking from. It\u2019s not enough just to take. They need to feel like they are getting help when they are putting their stories out there.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0We were also talking about how we to be that medium for helping out and educating the theater, so we\u2019re going to offer that, too. So, institutions can always talk to us and nothing is a bad question.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I think people are afraid to ask questions.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0People don\u2019t want to feel stupid.<\/p>\n AP:<\/strong>\u00a0Now there is a fear not only of getting called out for bad actions, but also for performativity if you try to fix them.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong> I think there is a way of fixing something that isn\u2019t necessarily performative activism. I think when you are honest and transparent about the mistakes that you\u2019ve made, it\u2019s even better. Because it\u2019s education. You could put out a statement that says \u201cWe made a messed up. Things should have been done ____ way. We are going to take the time to do properly do that. And we are going to be open about it because we want people to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s being able to vocalize yourself. Making people feel seen and heard is what matters.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0If you don\u2019t feel that you are part of the community, how are you supposed to RH:<\/strong>\u00a0That goes back to why representation matters.<\/p>\n R.E.C. Arts Reykjav\u00edk started during the pandemic over a series of zoom workshops that have recently moved to in-person. What else are you hoping to pursue in the future? Where do you see this community growing?<\/strong><\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0The reason why we started our workshops on zoom is because of COVID-19. We always were planning on being live.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0The next thing that we are doing is that we have a whole-day takeover at\u00a0I\u00f0n\u00f3<\/strong>\u00a0during the Reykjav\u00edk Arts Festival. We\u2019re going to be hosting different educational panels, some workshops, and classes, and we\u2019re going to be showcasing performances that are being built within our workshops. Also, some curated performances by other local artists of minority backgrounds to give them a platform. We basically wanted to show the higher-ups in the Icelandic art scene what they\u2019re missing, and that they are people here that are talented and have amazing ideas, and have a voice and a story. So that\u2019s our short-term thing.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong> We are letting it grow. It is exciting to see. It is hard sometimes when you are creating something to not have a complete plan, but we have a structure and we want to be open to letting something new grow. We realized when we started this that there are so many minority groups out there trying to do their own, similar thing so this is kind of a platform for everyone to have a space to do something on one big day.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0The panels are going to be themed and the biggest thing about it, in terms of education, is going to be \u201cHey, you think this isn\u2019t a problem?<\/em>\u00a0Let\u2019s show you why it is a problem AND how you can fix it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A lot of people aren\u2019t interesting in solving it, or they don\u2019t know how to solve an issue so they just say \u201clet\u2019s leave it for another time\u201d because there is that fear of not knowing how to fix it and doing something wrong.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong> We say education and awareness, but our plan is more about giving people tools, to be able to address situations seriously. Giving people the power and the courage to stand up for something they would have never stood up for, so when you see something wrong you can be an active ally.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong>\u00a0Especially getting white people amongst white people to say something. Because people always think it\u2019s not their problem, that it\u2019s not affecting them. You can always do it in a polite way, and not be aggressive and make the other person feel stupid. It is 2022, we should try to talk a little bit more respectfully about everyone.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0All of the things we are talking about are also relevant in the United States, and here or there, but I think because Iceland is such a small country, it\u2019s so frustrating to see. Because it is such a small country, things can happen very fast. It is supposed to be one of the most \u201cprogressive,\u201d \u201cequal\u201d countries. The fact is that we\u2019re seeing it from the inside, and we\u2019re saying \u201cIt\u2019s actually not, and here\u2019s how we can fix it\u201d and people are still insisting they want to keep it the same. That\u2019s why we see it as a bigger problem than in some other countries.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019re not coming together. We need to come together whether we\u2019re Black-Icelandic, Green-Icelandic, or Russian-Icelandic. We\u2019re still Icelandic. This concept is important to me because I have a mixed son, and he is Icelandic. I don\u2019t want him to ever experience somebody asking him \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d I was adopted and have an Icelandic mom, I am an Icelander and my whole family is Icelandic, his father is Icelandic, and his grandparents\u2026this is all he knows. I don\u2019t need someone to judge him by his color and take being Icelandic away from him.<\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0I think one of the big reasons why people think there is no racism in Iceland, is because in the United States for example, there is a very clear, systematic history of racism. Whereas here, sure there are histories of racism but there is nothing as specific as the North Atlantic Slave Trade. But the mindset still penetrates within. Especially if you follow Antirasistarnir, they have been so blunt about the racist experiences in Iceland that they\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n EB:<\/strong> We\u2019ve also talked about more development because a lot of the people who come to our workshops have kids. We would like maybe later on\u2013to be able to host workshops for kids of minorities. Because then they meet each other and don\u2019t have that feeling of being different. We\u2019re always finding new and more ways to make this a better environment for the people that haven\u2019t been supported in that way.<\/p>\n CS:<\/strong> Creating this community is very, very important for us. It\u2019s something that we all share very deeply and we\u2019re trying to help and protect other people that could possibly be going through this. We know what was not done for us and we\u2019re like \u201cThese are the things we wish would have happened and now we want to do this for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n Every workshop ends with the question: Why does representation matter to you? What have been some of the most interesting or inspiring answers that you\u2019ve received so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n RH:<\/strong>\u00a0We posted some of the answers on our Instagram, which you can read here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Art Museum, Reykjav\u00edk City Theatre, National Gallery, Reykjav\u00edk Arts Festival, Iceland Symphony Orchestra: (Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, and Managing Director), and the Iceland Dance Company are all led by a woman.<\/p>\n
feel like you have a purpose?<\/p>\n
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