SUVA’s foreign partner is SÍM (Samband íslenskra myndlistarmanna), Iceland’s largest organization of professional artists based in Reykjavík.
The Association of Icelandic Fine Artists (SÍM) was founded in 1982 and today serves as an interest organization with 760 members. SÍM members are individuals or representatives of professional associations of artists. SÍM serves as the umbrella organization of seven art associations.
The main goal of SÍM is to improve the salary, social and legal status of artists, to take care of their interests and rights, it provides free legal advice. SÍM prepares various projects for government agencies, appoints representatives to councils and committees, and provides advice on various cultural policy issues.
It publishes the online magazine STARA.
SÍM rents studios to its members in the wider center of Reykjavík. The Korpúlfsstaðir has various studios, exhibition spaces and a gallery. The SÍM studios, located in Seljavegur, Nýlendugata, Súðarvogur, Korpúlfsstaðir and Lyngás in Garðabær, serve almost 180 artists.
It also runs guest studios in Reykjavík for foreign resident artists. They are located in Seljavegur and Korpúlfsstaðir and are used by an average of 15 artists each month, for a total of 150 visiting artists each year. SÍM guest studios are an important part of Icelandic art life and the only one of its kind in Reykjavík.
SÍM manages UMM.IS — an information page about Icelandic visual art and its authors. The site was constructed using data from the Visual Arts Information Center, which was launched in 1995. The database is extremely large and comprehensive and has proved invaluable to various cultural associations, visual artists, scientists, teachers and international curators.
More information available on the web
