On Friday 2 May 2014 the exhibition Nordic Bookbinding 2013 (Norrænt bókband 2013) opened in Þjóðarbókhlaða, the library building at Arngrímsgata 3. At the opening, addresses were given by Svanur Jóhannesson and National Librarian Ingibjörg Steinunn Sverrisdóttir. The JAM group, which organises the exhibition, was founded in 1989 after a course in fine bookbinding run by Félag bókagerðarmanna (the Icelandic union of book and print workers) at the Reykjavík Technical College. The Danish bookbinders Arne Møller Pedersen and Jakob Lund were the instructors, and the group named itself after their initials. This was a great boost for the bookbinding trade and led six bookbinders to take part in the Nordic bookbinding competition the following year. After that there was a break of 14 years in Nordic exhibitions, and it is said that a new generation took over the trade. In 1998 it was decided to try to revive this Nordic cooperation, and in 2001 rules for a new arrangement of Nordic bookbinding exhibitions were agreed. A special jury of distinguished people judges the bindings and chooses 25% of the books for a special category of honour. The first competition under these new rules was held in 2004, with 81 participants, 14 of them from Iceland. The competition is held every five years. This time there are 80 participants, 13 of them Icelanders, and two of them receive honourable mentions: Hrefna Ársælsdóttir and Ragnar Gylfi Einarsson.
Nordic Bookbinding 2013
