Date of creation: 1975
c/o Messíana Tómasdóttir
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170
SELTJARNARNES
Iceland
www.facebook.com/UNIMA-Iceland-193693418399/
Presentation
Brief history
UNIMA Iceland was founded in 1975 on the initiative of Michael Meschke. The history of puppetry in Iceland may be said to have started during the Second World War, when a refugee from Nazi Germany, Kurt Zier, an art teacher and puppeteer, founded the Marionette Society (Marionettufélagid) with a staging of Goethe’s Faust.
In 1954 the Icelandic Puppet Theatre (Islenska Bruduleikhusid or br?duleikh?si?) was established by Jón E. Gudmundsson (d. 2005). His marionettes are now in the possession of the Theatre Museum of Iceland (established in 2003), which regards the Gudmundsson collection as one of its finest treasures and takes every opportunity to show it to the public.
Important projects and achievements
The work of Icelandic puppeteers with its wide scope has won acclaim at home and widely abroad. UNIMA Iceland has taken a crucial part in all puppetry events in Iceland since its foundation.
