What is it about certain places that makes us want to sit down, stay for a while and even start a conversation with a stranger?

The Exhibition Wall of Inspiration was a tribute to the creative collaborations within the experimental project Stofan | A Public Living Room during the years 2021-24. Stofan was a playful exploration in how citizens, collectives and NGOs envision a community square in the future library.

The aim was to create a place where you can start a conversation, communicate beyond language and share the care for our community.  

In the exploration process we used all our senses to explore the surroundings, ideas and understandings of public spaces we would like to see in our society. We exchanged ideas about neutral spaces, comfort and spatial identity of a library – the connection between people, physical elements of places, and activities associated with them.  

Each version of Stofan was different. We danced, learned about our rights, racism and climate issues, shared food and culture, told personal stories, took a shower, cared for our senses, stayed silent, imagined new futures and re-charged our batteries.

You can have a look into the diverse versions of Stofan | A Public Living Room here.

Further information
Dögg Sigmarsdóttir 
Project manager | Civic Participation  
dogg.sigmarsdottir@reykjavik.is 

Martyna Karolina Daniel 
Specialist | Intercultural affairs
martyna.karolina.daniel@reykjavik.is