NÝLÓ + ARCHIVE OF ARTIST RUN INITIATIVES:
AN OPEN SITE RESEARCH OFFICE AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND
19.05-02.09.2012

This open site research office revolving around the Archive of Artist Run Initiatives will be executed and exhibited before the National Gallery of Iceland museum guests from the 19th of May to September 2nd. The project is a special contribution of the Living Art Museum to (I)ndependent People , Reykjavík Arts Festival Visual Arts Program 2012.

The Living Art Museum, or NÝLÓ as it is referred to on a daily basis, was founded by artists in 1978 and is the oldest non-profit artist-run organization in Iceland. Through the last 30 years it has stayed true to its original goals creating a platform for progressive exhibitions and critical discussions on experimental art practice. NÝLÓ also houses a substantial archive of contemporary art documentations where  materials involving Icelandic and international  art from 1960 until today are collected. Among these collections is the Archive of Artist Run Initiatives.

The Archive of Artist Run Initiatives was established in 2008 with the aim  to preserve, collect and distribute  material on the exhibition spaces initiated by Icelandic and international artists in Iceland. To this day NÝLÓ has collected material relating to over 100 exhibition spaces and the search for further material is ongoing.

The research process regarding the Archive will be exhibited on a chronological timeline spanning the years 1960- 2012, thus revealing a list of the Artist Run Initiatives and displaying information about their lifespan and placing them in the economical, sociological and political surroundings of their era. The timeline will be under constant construction during the exhibition, resulting in an overview on this un-revealed part of Icelandic art history. Whilst the opening hours of the research office museum guests and contributors are encouraged to ask questions about the project, engage in a conversation or bring relevant material that could further improve the research. The project together with the timeline construction will slowly unravel the story of the Archive of Artist Run Initiatives.

For more information on the research process please visit: http://independentpeople.is/info/nylo/

On the 25th of August an open conversation will take place where the result of the research office will be discussed, the timeline reviewed and questions about the Archive of Artist Run Initiatives asked and most importantly answered to some extent.