Pavilion

The Iceland Pavilion

The concept of the Iceland Pavilion is for it to be a place in which visitors feel at home in Iceland – as a country of literature and of magnificent natural beauty. “Most Icelandic households have their own small libraries,” says Halldór Guðmundsson, director of Fabulous Iceland. “If it weren't for that lively interest in literature it wouldn't be possible for our independent publishing sector with around 30 publishing houses to sustain itself in such a small country. We're bringing the tradition of our home libraries to Frankfurt, and with it also the Icelandic readers themselves. So there's a double sense in which we're inviting people into our world of books.”

This is achieved by using several hundred photos of Icelanders pictured in their own private libraries. As part of the campaign “Come with us to Frankfurt!”, Icelandic readers uploaded their photos to a Facebook account (www.facebook.com/sogueyjan.island), or they sent them by post and e-mail to the Fabulous Iceland office in Reykjavík. Besides this, there are also video portraits of Icelanders reading from their favourite books. These separate, self-contained Portraits add up to make a video installation lasting roughly 30 minutes. From the home libraries area, visitors can then enter the Iceland Panorama – an elaborate 360-degree film installation that brings home quite stunningly, the grandeur of the country's landscapes and natural phenomena.

To enable people to get together in a more relaxed, “Icelandic” atmosphere, within the hurly-burly of the Fair, Fabulous Iceland will host a Happy Hour at the pavilion every day at 5.00 p.m. This will include Icelandic authors and music, as well as the island's national drink, Brennivín.