Graduation 2025, Silfurberg Harpa  

The Iceland Academy of the Arts' spring 2025 graduation ceremony took place in Silfurberg, Harpa, on June 14. This time, 190 students graduated from the school's seven departments: Architecture, Design, Film, Art Education, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Music.

Kristín Eysteinsdóttir, rector, graduated for the second time from the Academy of the Arts. In her address, she discussed, among other things, the importance of intuition in artistic creation, silence, honesty and the responsibility of artists towards society.

"The sea that mindful that withvitundin she shouts en intuition that whispers. That er nothing PULL mun shape  you more PULL artists en that how much vel you train og connects intuition yours.  His the connectiong builder á honesty, that you seen honest we others og honest we you self. To you embrace reasons its that you see the world with others eyes og that you dedicate you courage for that communicate that one vision for our hinna í through yours creative workTherefore already we pretend then does allur the body rebellion."

Kristín's speech can be read in its entirety below.

There is a rich tradition of student representatives from each faculty giving speeches. The speakers in 2025 were:

Graduation to the sound of film music

The festival's presentations were Hanna Augusta Olgeirsdottir og Óskar Snorri Óskarsson, 1st year students in the Department of Performing Arts, who ended the festival with a bang and performed a song by Sigfús Halldórsson Roads lead in all directions from the movie 79 of the station along with Samuel Jón Samuelsson's Brass Band who framed the festival with a musical theme related to film music, in honor of the first graduation of the Film Arts Department.

Address by Kristín Eysteinsdóttir, Rector of the Icelandic Institute of Technology

Dear guests, dear friends and colleagues, dear graduates!

Today we blow the trumpet. Today we celebrate milestones, your achievements, the fruits of many years of work, exploration, knowledge-seeking, and creativity.

Today is also a different kind of turning point in the history of the Academy of the Arts, as for the first time in Iceland, students are graduating with a university degree in film. The music that sounds here today is therefore all related to films in one way or another. It is worth noting that I am a trained dramaturge and therefore never pass up a good concept.

Music, or rather its opposite, is what I want to focus on today as I address you, the artists of the future. I want to talk about what happens when the music stops and we stand in silence and face ourselves. I want to talk about intuition and its importance.

One of my strongest memories from childhood is of a snail that was on a shelf at my grandparents' house. In the silence, I could put my ear right up to it and inside it, I could hear the sound of an entire ocean. There was a whole world inside a small shell.

Sometimes there were quiet and soothing waves, sometimes icy and turbulent surf.

Our intuition is a bit like this snail. We have to put our ear really close to hear it, but believe me when I tell you that what sounds there is possibly the most beautiful and important thing you as artists will ever listen to. It reveals a whole world inside a small shell.

Today I want to encourage you to listen. Remember that intuition is the place where we need to close our eyes to see better.

Writer Anais Nin said, “When we pretend, the whole body rebels.”

It's easiest to go with the flow. From childhood you are trained to listen to other people, your parents, your teachers, really everyone other than yourself. When I graduated from elementary school I knew more about Norway than I did myself. You are full of information and voices that have told you how the world works. In most cases, this information and voices are both important and correct, but then you will experience moments where doubt creeps in, doubt that says I don't see the world quite like this. When that happens, I encourage you to stop and listen, and if you really take the time, turn down all the distractions and pause in the silence, you will hear your intuition.

Remember that consciousness shouts, intuition whispers. There is nothing that will shape you more as an artist than how well you train and connect with your intuition. That connection is based on honesty, that you are honest with others and honest with yourself. That you embrace the reasons why you see the world differently and that you have the courage to communicate that vision to the rest of us through your creative work. Because when we pretend, our whole body rebels.

Dear students,

The only thing that is certain is that everything will change. Everything you see and experience today will change. But remember that all change in the world begins in the mind of one person, and you can be that person.

In a world where uncertainty seems to be the only constant, intuition can be your most powerful compass. Intuition is your most precious gift. Cultivate your intuition, and it will point you in new directions and push you toward courageous decisions that reasoning alone cannot justify.

Research shows that intuition is the bridge between the conscious and subconscious. Intuition weaves together everything you have learned with what you sense beyond thought. Intuition is magic. It's that magical moment when you instinctively know what you're going to do before your mind has time to figure out why. When you suddenly feel the right shape, words, sound, or color appear.

You have to listen to others and the world for a very long time before you can start listening to yourself and your intuition needs to be trained. You can and should acquire knowledge, technique and a strong foundation in everything you create as an artist but when you have trained it for many years it becomes more effortless and that is precisely when you can start to train your intuition better. When you can go anywhere with all the technique, knowledge and experience you have gained. Like an athlete who exerts himself effortlessly. The French stage artist Artaud said that artists are athletes of the heart.

Intuition is an anchor. Intuition is the heartbeat and spark of innovation.

Intuition is a flash and sudden clarity that opens new paths.

It is the space where the known and the unknown meet.

As artists, give yourself the independence and freedom to forge your own path, to pursue what interests you. Cultivate courage and humility at the same time, a willingness to listen to others while holding fast to your own vision. Be willing to search and get lost. Only in this way can you find new paths. Creating art is largely about creating new puzzles and solving them. The challenges you face, whether they are technological, environmental, or social, require new thinking and bold action.

Graduates, as you step out into the world, remember that you are part of a legacy that spans generations and continents. Art is not a luxury but a necessity. You are here to share your voice, your vision of the world, the mundane, the grand, the small and the large.

In a rapidly changing world, the role of the artist has never been more important. As technology advances at breakneck speed and global challenges increase, art is a beacon – a beacon of hope, a catalyst for change, and a witness to humanity.

Today we look ahead: to the infinite possibilities, freedoms, and responsibilities that come with being an artist. In a world that is moving faster than ever, the need for connection and some kind of meaning is stronger than ever. As you leave this school, I encourage you to take with you not only the education and knowledge you have gained here, but also to cultivate your intuition. Trust the compass.

Dear students,

The phrase “the personal is political” takes on its deepest meaning in the arts. As artists of the future, you have the power to use your art not only to reflect the world but to reshape it. Intuition plays a key role here, the ability to trust your inner feeling, often over and above logical analysis. At its core, intuition is deep and personal. It is your inner voice that aligns what you do with your values ​​and worldview.

Philosopher Albert Camus described art as rebellion – a statement of humanity in the face of the absurdity of the world. He saw rebellion not as a destructive force but as a creative transformation that rejects injustice and meaninglessness. Alongside rebellion stands intuition as the cornerstone of creativity.

One of the main functions of art is to ask questions and challenge the accepted, to challenge the accepted norms that determine who gets to create, what stories are told, and what identities are accepted. As artists, your work challenges these limitations, creating space for voices that have been silenced, and shedding light on narratives that may have been marginalized. Art thus becomes a platform where dominant narratives are questioned and rethought.

Camus considered artists to be the guardians of truth. He emphasized that art must be free – free to challenge, question, and explore. It is not what makes us different that divides us, but our inability to acknowledge, accept, and celebrate diversity.

Dear students,

Today is a beautiful moment. I sincerely congratulate you, your families and friends on this day. Now is the time to enjoy what has been achieved.

And remember that inside you lives an entire ocean in a small shell. Sometimes there are calm and soothing waves, sometimes icy surf. Put your ear to it. Let what you hear flow forward. Then step on the wave. We will listen.