At the Arctic Circle Assembly 2022 at Hafnarstræti in Harpa, Friday 14th of October at 12:15-13:00, H.E. Pär Ahlberger, H.E. Kerin Ayyalaraju and H.E. Andrew Jenks, Ambassadors of Sweden, Australia and New Zealand to Iceland respectively, reflect on Daniel Solander´s journey from the Pacific to the Arctic.
Daniel Solander was born in 1733, in a small Swedish town 100 km from the Arctic Circle. He studied medicine and natural history in Uppsala, where he became the favourite student of Carl Linnaeus, the founder of modern systematic biology. Solander became a member of the Endeavour voyage in 1768 – 1771 under the leadership of Captain James Cook, where Solander was the foremost natural scientist on board. Daniel Solander thus became the first Swede to sail around the world and he also represents the first contact between the cultures of the Arctic Nordic and the Pacific region. In 1772 Solander came to Iceland in one of the first foreign scientific expeditions to the island.
In 2022, it is 250 years since the Swedish botanist and Linnaeus apostle Daniel Solander made a scientific expedition to Iceland. To commemorate the expedition the Embassy of Sweden, together with Icelandic partners, has initiated one of the most comprehensive Swedish-Icelandic projects ever.
The project invites Iceland to reflect on our common past, present and future. It extends over two years and involves more than 40 Icelandic partners in some 30 locations all over Iceland.
The project is interdisciplinary and forward-looking, bringing art and science in conversation while exploring the Anthropocene. It furthers highlights the Nordic identity and promotes a Pacific-Arctic dialogue.
One of the cornerstones is the art exhibition Solander 250 - Bréf frá Íslandi which will tour around Iceland for one and a half years together with the Pacific award-winning exhibition Daniel Solander’s Legacy - Paradise Lost. This is the first time an exhibition from the Pacific region tours Iceland. The Solander exhibitions form part of a larger whole - including workshops, nature walks and music on the subject, and are on display in Arctic Circle. The ambition is to inspire and stimulate local engagement in the communities hosting the exhibitions.
Elísabet Stefánsdóttir, President of The Icelandic Printmakers Association, will talk about the association´s involvement in Solander 250: Bréf frá Íslandi. The Solander 250: Bréf frá Íslandi project is the largest exhibition in The Icelandic Printmakers Association history.
