Munda Art Prize 2025: Anna Júlía Friðbjörnsdóttir
The 25th presentation from the Art Fund of Guðmunda S. Kristinsdóttir Art Fund Miðengi took place Thursday evening, June 5, at the opening of the Erró exhibit: Remix at Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús Museum. This year's winner is Anna Júlía Friðbjörnsdóttir. Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttir, President of City Council, presented the grant.
The 2025 Munda Art Prize winner, Anna Júlía Friðbjörnsdóttir, was born in 1973 and lives and works in Reykjavík. She has worked in the fine arts for about twenty years and has drawn increased attention in recent years for her compelling work and strong presence in the Icelandic art scene, while also exhibiting internationally.
The grant from this fund is awarded to an exemplary female artist and is intended to encourage further achievements in the fine arts. Erró established the Munda Art Prize in 1997 in memory of his maternal aunt, Guðmunda S. Kristinsdóttir from Miðengi. Through this prize, he wanted to contribute to the development of Icelandic fine arts and encourage female artists to achieve great things. The monetary award of 1.2 million is now the highest recognition given in the field of fine arts in Iceland. This is the 25th time the grant has been awarded, creating a remarkably accomplished group of female artists who have received this recognition.
Explores connections between sciences and culture in her work
Anna Júlía's work is conceptually unified while her choice of materials and execution show sensitivity and exceptional ability to translate ideas into different media. She works across media and engages in fascinating ways with the connections between sciences and culture in works that are rooted in contemporary life with strong historical references. Anna Júlía completed an MA degree from Manchester School of Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University, in 2004 and a BFA degree from London Guildhall University in 1998. She previously studied at the Iceland University of the Arts from 1993-95. She was co-founder and editor of the art magazine Sjónauki, which was published from 2007-2009.
Throughout her career, Anna Júlía has participated in numerous group shows and held many solo exhibitions, most notably her participation in the Iðavöllur exhibit at Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús Museum in 2021 and the solo exhibit Erindi at Hafnarborg, for which she was nominated for the Icelandic Art Prize in 2018. Her work has attracted attention both domestically and internationally, and in 2022 she received a sought-after grant for a year-long residency at Kunstlerhau Behtanine in Berlin, where a solo exhibition of her work was mounted. A magnificent solo exhibition of her new work recently concluded at Berg Contemporary in Reykjavík.