Serfenta in Iceland, basketry treasures

Serfenta in Iceland! Polish–Icelandic weaves, a craft that connects! Join us for a look at Iceland, which we visited as part of a Study Visit – by no means for the first time. We were once told that there is no basketry in Iceland. But we found it – not only embodied by Guðrún the basket maker, but also as hidden, woven treasures housed in various museums!

If basket makers in Iceland exist?

Since 2017, from our very first study visit, we have answered: yes! Not only historical figures we have uncovered, but also contemporary basket makers—and Guðrún Pétursdóttir has been our partner for many years.

Our June visit was an opportunity to meet again with our main partner, Guðrún Pétursdóttir of Ge Pe Handverk, to update her areas of activity and craft practice related to basketry. Much has happened in recent years, both in our work and in her development. We were able to update what she is currently doing, what she focuses on, and how she works.

She has begun to undertake workshop-based, educational, and community-activating initiatives in the field of Icelandic basketry. This is also the result of our earlier cooperation and of sharing how Serfenta works in promoting heritage and undertaking educational activities, as well as encouraging her to pursue in-depth research into basketry in Iceland.

We were delighted to see her diverse woven works and to learn about the needs of her audiences. We also spoke about our own work, the development of Serfenta, and our recent achievements.

Polish accents in Iceland:

Weaves of design and craft in Iceland

On the second day, Guðrún organized a meeting for us at the Museum of Design and Applied Art (Hönnunarsafn) in Reykjavík. We were able to explore both the permanent and temporary exhibitions, including a guided tour. We learned about the areas of activity of this institution, whose core mission is exhibiting shows, as well as organizing the annual Design March (meetings, workshops, exhibitions).

We learned how craft and design intertwine in Iceland. The temporary exhibition was an excellent example of combining contemporary art with traditional basketry material, as it presented works made of straw—perfectly aligned with our topic.

In addition to meeting a representative of the institution, we also met with Icelandic artist Thelma Björk, who was undertaking an artistic residency at the museum. In a highly inspiring way, she shared her practices for promoting traditional and contemporary embroidery among children and adults. She told us about the very innovative classes she conducts, as well as her artistic work. She shared her educational know-how and observations from craft workshops that combine art, design, and traditional craft.

There is much we could draw from her experience to enrich our own work and reach new audiences even more effectively. We shared our own educational know-how, spoke about Serfenta’s work, and discussed conclusions drawn from our craft workshops. Among other things, this included very innovative combinations of historical embroidered wall hangings and seating with contemporary, intuitive, and free embroidery. The artist boldly crosses boundaries to invite playful engagement with one’s own cultural heritage. Together, we reflected on how Icelandic ideas might be received in our country.

We see space for future collaboration with the museum in combining craft and design, primarily through workshop-based and artistic-educational activities.

A basketry treasure in Skógar

The next day, in line with the substantive plan of the visit, we traveled with our main partner Guðrún to the second partner institution—the Skógar Museum. There, we were welcomed by the museum team led by Guðbjörg Konráðsdóttir, who received us in her office and meeting room. Thanks to the kindness of our partners, we were able to personally study the basket collection held there, observing all safety rules for working with valuable material heritage.

Not only were we able to examine the materials and weaves used in Iceland, but we also learned more about the anthropological context—who made them, how the objects entered the museum’s collection, and we were provided with educational materials. A special session was organized for us: objects normally displayed in museum cases were taken out so that we could study them closely. We also presented our own activities and Serfenta’s good practices from our 18 years of work and handed over to our partner a book about Polish basketry.

We also toured the museum’s permanent exhibition, presented in a truly engaging and thoughtful way (both open-air displays and indoor museum exhibitions). We were able to see woven objects made of horsehair (shoes, ropes)! We discovered that we are connected by yet another craft: in our town, Cieszyn, there is a special form of jewelry—Cieszyn filigree. In Skógar, there are also filigree objects similar to those found in the traditional Cieszyn costume, which is quite unusual. We did not explore this topic further, but it is an additional thread that may connect us in the future.

The combination of these three partners was very inspiring and promising for the future: Ge Pe Handverk, which focuses on education and runs craft workshops while also practicing craft itself; an institution dedicated to disseminating Iceland’s historical heritage; and our own presence—with extensive experience in promoting and proposing new educational pathways for basketry and ideas for further activities. We see real potential for joint initiatives in the future. The combination of our knowledge and skills can yield very strong results.

Looking ahead, we see space for educational activities involving both Icelandic and Polish craft—especially since Iceland has a large Polish diaspora that, while living abroad, needs to maintain a connection with its own culture. Together, we could meet many of the local community’s needs that we identified during this visit.

Craft education from an early age – inspiring Iceland

After visiting the museum, we continued our journey to the town of Vík. A member of Ge Pe Handverk lives there—Kolbrún Hjörleifsdóttir, the principal of the primary school in Vík (who was also our partner in the past). She works in education with school-age children and not only shared her observations on education in art and design, but also showed us her family collection of ropes woven from horsehair. These are her private resources and a family treasure, rich in meaning—demonstrating human creativity, the use of natural resources, and the need for artistic expression, even in simple utilitarian objects.

She also shared observations about the large Polish community in Vík, which is increasingly involved in the life of the town. Polish children attend the school in Vík and need activities related to Polish culture—showing pride in it and connecting it with the culture of the country their parents have chosen as their place to live. Previously, we had not reflected much on the needs of the Polish community in Iceland, but after this visit we see this as an area worth exploring and proposing concrete actions related to Polish culture beyond Poland’s borders. At the same time, there is a need to introduce Polish culture to Iceland’s residents, enabling them to better understand the people living in their country—something that could have a positive impact on cultural integration: learning by doing.

Melgresi – basketry materials of Iceland

With Guðrún Pétursdóttir, we went into the field to learn about materials typical for Iceland, such as melgresi grass (Leymus arenarius) growing on black volcanic beaches (we observed how it is harvested), and Arctic willow (Salix arctica), whose roots were likely used in historical basketry in Iceland.

We were able to observe and document the harvesting of melgresi, which uses leaves, stems, and roots. We also noted contexts of nature-inspired Icelandic design – color palettes, a close relationship with nature, and practices of spending time outdoors from preschool age. Once again, we found many shared areas but also discovered differences between our countries, particularly in approaches to education.

This was not our first study visit to Iceland—we know a great deal about it, not only in the context of basketry! You can invite us to give a presentation on Icelandic basketry—we promise to show many beautiful photos and share fascinating stories from this unique island.

We hope this is not the end of our collaboration, and we thank our partners!

The study visit was made possible thanks to the Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein Funds and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.