the Icelandic artist Björg Sveinbjörnsdóttir held a story telling workshop on grandmothers for Women Activity Club of Utena. There were stories, memories, receipts and songs shared about our beloved grandmothers.
During the workshop Björg presented her sound-poetry book Hljóðin úr eldhúsinu“ (“Sounds from the Kitchen”) based on recordings from her grandmother Gudjóna Albertsdóttir from Sudureyri in Súgandafjord in the Westfjords of Iceland. Gudjóna recorded about 60 hours of sounds mostly from her own kitchen, including singing, dialogues, and routine sounds such as phone calls and baking noises. These sounds and stories became tools to inspire participants to share their own stories about their grandmothers. This ode to the kitchen is wisdom gathered throughout lives of our grandmothers and it is important for building up a cultural and historical platform.