About us
The Gunnar Gunnarsson Institute was established in 1997 with rules set by the Minister of Education, Mr. Björn Bjarnason. The institute operated according to these rules until the end of 2007, taking into account the gift certificate of Gunnar Gunnarsson, the poet and Franzisca Gunnarsson, his wife, from 11th December 1948.
Since 1st January 2008 the institute has been run as a with non – profit, self independent institution, operating according to approved charter.
In 1999, an agreement was made between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture that the The Gunnar Gunnarsson Institute had at its disposal and supervision at Skriðuklaustur in Fljótsdalur, the former home of Gunnarsson, Gunnarshús, and the building next to it, Skriða as a director's or staff residence, and a 15 ha plot around the houses. That is the home of the institute, though its platform is East Iceland and, in fact, the whole world.
At Skriðuklaustur, the Gunnar Gunnarsson Institute runs a cultural and educational center with live cultural activities all year round, exhibitions, concerts, lectures and other events.
The members of the institute board are:
From 1 January 2024 till 31 December 2026:
- Gunnar Björn Gunnarsson, appointed by the Ministry of Education, his alternate is Gunnar Martin Úlfsson.
- Sigríður Sigmundsdóttir, appointed by Austurbrú, Her alternate is Björgvin Steinar Friðriksson.
- Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir, appointed by the University of Iceland, her alternate is Rúnar Helgi Vignisson.
- Annette Lassen appointed by the Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies, her alternate is Halldóra Jónsdóttir.
- Sindri Freysson appointed by the Icelandic Writers Association, his alternate is Margrét Tryggvadóttir.
Employees
Director
Skúli Björn Gunnarsson was born east in Fljótsdalshérað district on March 24, 1970. He is an educated Icelandic scholar but worked in publishing, promotion, advertising, multimedia, website design and public relations before taking up the position of director of the Gunnar Gunnarsson Institute on 1st October, 1999. His email address is skuli[at] skriduklaustur.is.
Other employees
Ólöf Sæunn Valgarðsdóttir (Skotta) is an anthropologist who has worked at the institute intermittently since 2001. She oversees the reception at the site and manages activities as well as other projects.Her email is skotta [at] skriduklaustur.is.
Brynjar Darri Sigurðsson Kjerúlf (Darri) has a degree in tourism and has workded at the Gunnarsstofnun intermittently since 2014. He works on digital projects in the wintertime but welcomes visitors over the summer. His email is darri [at] skriduklaustur.is