The LungA School offers 12-week programs in either ART or LAND that take place in the Spring and in the Fall each year in Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland, where you stay and live at the school for the duration of your program. The LungA School also hosts a 10-month part time program: RADIO, that takes place on air, wherever in the world you may find yourself.  This information covers the on-site programs ART and LAND. For information about RADIO, visit: lungaschool.is/en/radio

Application Process

Each round of applications is open for two months. After the deadline, the Program Directors will take one month to read, contemplate and discuss the applications and group constellations they see as diverse, complimenting and intriguing. The Program Directors will contact you about your application within four weeks of the deadline.

Cost

Participants pay a fee to attend a program at the LungA School. The price includes tuition, workshops, lunch and dinner from the local restaurant on weekdays, accommodation for 12 weeks, workshop material, various art supplies, equipment and tools related to the programs. Check with your union, municipality or local companies for financial support.

If you are a current student at a gymnasium or an art school, you may be able to transfer credits from this program.

The price for a 12-week programme is 700.000 ISK.

Please note participants must pay a deposit of 60.000 ISK within two weeks of acceptance to secure their spot on the program then pay the full tuition prior to attending the school.

Who can apply?

Programs at the school are subject to a national obligation to prioritise participants aged 18 to 25, as the role of Icelandic folk high schools is primarily to prepare students for life. However individual circumstances often mean you might have or need different life experiences at different times. We are also aware of the importance of life-long learning, and the benefits of an age-diverse school. To help us ensure this, if you are applying to the school and will be over 25 at the point of enrolment, please include any exception and justification in your application.

How many participants?

Each ART program fits 18 participants plus internal and external lecturers, workshop leaders and program directors.

The LAND program fits 16 participants plus internal and external lecturers, workshop leaders and program directors.

Accommodation

All participants live at the school facilities in Seyðisfjörður. Participants live together and take care of the houses and spaces together.  Living with others is part of what it means to school together and so, common with most folk high schools, rooms are normally shared with another participant, with shared bathrooms and kitchen. The school will provide accommodation for two days before the program commences and two days after it concludes. 

Food

The school provides plant based lunches and dinners on weekdays. Participants collectively prepare breakfast every day and dinner on weekends, and the cost of food is included in the participation fee.

Accessibility

Accessibility is not solely a matter of physical infrastructure but also a recognition of how environmental, social, and systemic factors intersect to shape experiences of mobility. We affirm the validity of all embodied experiences and aim to foster a space that respects and adapts to diverse ways of being in the world.

Participants with specific accessibility needs are invited to communicate these requirements before and during the admission process for logistical planning as well as a recognition of the diverse ways in which bodies and minds engage with the environment. 

For those with mobility impairments, it is important to be aware that the school's facilities are dispersed throughout the community and often will not reflect a fully accessible infrastructure. Engaging with the natural landscape of the fjord inherently involves navigating terrain that can be disorienting or challenging, particularly under fluctuating and occasionally severe weather conditions. 

We are committed to making accommodations where possible. We also understand that accommodations must go beyond physical adaptations to affirm each individual's autonomy and dignity within their unique embodiment. 

How is Seyðisfjörður?

Seyðisfjörður is not a big town – but it is a great town! And despite its size, it has an indoor swimming pool, a cafe, a supermarket, a bar, a hospital, art residencies and galleries, a golf course, skiing possibilities, a cinema and much more.

How to get there

There are a few ways to get to Seyðisfjörður from abroad. One option is to take Norröna, the Smyril Line ferry. It sails weekly to Seyðisfjörður from Hirtshals in Denmark, stopping in the Faroe Islands. Another option is flying to Keflavík Airport and either driving for 8–10 hours or flying to Egilsstaðir (a twenty-five minute drive from Seyðisfjörður).