Selárdalur in the West fjords - Samúel Jónsson

WORK/PROJECT: SEEDS Volunteers will be working for the fifth year restoring the artworks of Samúel Jónsson, an Icelandic folk artist, who lived in Selárdalur. We will be restoring an old church made by the artist himself and its surroundings.

We will be working hand in hand with a well know sculpture artist; who has dedicated several years to this project. The restoration work will include carpentry work, concrete wall building and more light maintenance work inside the church, like oiling the wood, etc.

SEEDS volunteers will continue supporting the project, as the buildings have been rapidly decaying since the artist’s death in 1969.

ACCOMMODATION: We will be hosted in a local house, in sleeping bag accommodation with mattresses on the floor. Please bring you own sleeping bag.

Food supplies will be provided and a kitchen will be available, volunteers will share the different duties of cooking and cleaning.

Please do not forget some traditional/typical food from your country for an international evening.

LOCATION: This work camp is located in Selárdalur on the west side of Arnarfjörður, in the Icelandic West Fjords. The West Fjords are among the most breathtakingly beautiful places in Iceland, with its high mountains and dramatic fjords cutting deep into the landscape. The Lonely Planet travel guide actually put the area on its top 10 list of regions in the world to visit in 2011.

Jónsson constructed at his farm in Selárdalur a folk art environment that consists of a sculpture garden and two built structures: a chapel and a museum with his paintings and other small works. The story related with the chapel says that Jónsson had made an altar, he wanted to donate to the local church, an offer that was rejected however, because the existing device was useful enough. So to provide a place for the artwork, Jónsson constructed his own chapel!

Samúel Jónsson could first fully devote himself to creative activities after his retirement as a farmer and then he began building palaces and sculptures. He started adding to his home and then he built a museum for all his artwork, sculptures as well as paintings with carved frames which he made during the winter. Samúel built a grotesque but charming resemblance to the lion’s fountain in the Alhambra-palace in Granada, Spain, and many sculptures showing seals and other animals as well as figures from Icelandic history like Leif the lucky who found America.

The distance from Reykjavik to Selárdalur is about 500 km (7-8 hours drive) via the Whale Bay tunnel; it is perhaps one of Iceland's most remote areas and a very peaceful and beautiful place to enjoy.

LANGUAGE: English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

TERMINAL: Closest International Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF).

SEEDS organises the “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camps and vice-versa, which apart from being cheaper and more convenient, allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting and tourist sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: Participation fee EUR 200 (Euros). 

Place of extreme beautiful natural surroundings with countless opportunities to hike and discover it by foot.

Volunteers should have a motivation for getting to know ways of living in rural areas in Iceland.

SEEDS and/or our hosting partner will organise free time activities in the area for the volunteers. This will include sightseeing, hiking, swimming in natural hot pots, etc.

Age: 18+