Work

I’m now six months without being able to find a job. In that time, I’ve gotten involved in countless creative endeavors ranging from organizing casual events to markets to an outright festival. I did my first-ever (group) gallery exhibit, and now I’m trudging along with my solo show coming up in February. This week, I joined a curation team for another tiny show space as well as the curation/organization team for a weekly event series in the city museum.

The highlight, though, is that my own gallery is here. The keys are in my pocket, and the space is being set up at this moment. It’s already open for business — we’re just waiting to move some more furniture and get an accountant so we can establish a legal company and take card payments. That comes with endless stress and fear, but I’ve never felt more accomplished.

Finding and collecting furniture, signing with a security company, signing an electricity provider and moving water bills under my name, paying an absurd down payment and the first month’s rent. I haven’t been home the past week. These days, I just run around between the gallery and my office, then other stores. My mind is running in circles repeating my to-do list: website, domain, move furniture, buy paper, buy frames, bring artwork, bring books, meet accountant, pay bills, make socials, and so on. I can’t say I’ve gotten much sleep.

Meanwhile, my musical endeavors are going well. My instrument arrived after a three-week delay due to improper documentation on the shipper’s part. It’s set up in my office, and I’m working on getting the accessories it needs. Mainly, a compatible half-damper pedal of which there are two in all of Iceland. Of course, of those two, I bought the one that was not compatible. The other is on its way from Akureyri.

My biggest concern is money, as usual. What happens to my unemployment benefits if I establish a business? Because if that counts as income, all of my “income” will pay for my store’s rent and bills, leaving me with nothing. That’s a question for the accountant. Regardless, I’m proud of what I’m accomplishing, so if I lose my life savings on the gallery, I can’t say I really care. Maybe running the place for a while (plus my newest endeavors) will finally make me employable as a cashier or something. If I can run an art gallery and curate publicly-funded venues, then I can surely run a cash register or at least stock shelves in a grocery store… hopefully. It’s still a big frustration: being rejected from every single job I have ever applied for.

In other news, I did not sell a photo as I thought. So, my first photo sale is yet to happen. It turned out the photo was lost under the table for a bit during the Christmas market, and I instead sold more books than expected which I thought was a photo payout. That’s still good news. I’m happy people are reading my books.

I had a fun trip to a cabin with some friends this past weekend. There’s not much else to say. I’m extremely grateful for all my friends and everyone who has supported me along this journey. I have access to everything I could ever need, except for plumbers and carpenters, apparently. Not much reading or writing to share — only expense spreadsheets.