The associate artist of the 79th edition of the Holland Festival is Icelandic composer, musician and singer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Reykjavik, 1982). She is one of the leading and most versatile composers of film scores, experimental pop and contemporary music of our time. For her work - often intense, poetic, dark and unpolished - she draws on diverse sources, from founders of contemporary music such as György Ligeti and Kaija Saariaho to minimal music, ambient and noise. She is a musical jack-of-all-trades who has collaborated with artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto (associate artist Holland Festival in 2021), Jóhann Jóhannsson, The Knife, Animal Collective and many others (see below).
The general public may know her music from films like Joker (2019), for which she won an Oscar, TÁR (2022) or the HBO drama series Chernobyl (2019). This month at the Toronto Film Festival HEDDA premiered, the radical adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play with music by Guðnadóttir.
In the Holland Festival 2026, she presents, among other things Where to From, a new multidisciplinary concert combining live music from the album of the same name (to be released later this year) and works from Guðnadóttir's existing oeuvre with light art by Theresa Baumgartner. This concert is co-produced by the Holland Festival.
The role of the associate artist
Since 2019, the Holland Festival has been working annually with an associate artist: an international artist with a broad perspective and their own groundbreaking and interdisciplinary artistic practice, who commits to the festival for one edition. In addition to existing work, she or he will show new work that the Holland Festival co-produces. The associate artist also acts as a discussion partner for the programme team in shaping part of the rest of the festival programme.
Emily Ansenk, Holland Festival director: "With Hildur Guðnadóttir, we welcome an artist who brings together sound, emotion and imagination in a unique way. Her work gets under the skin, touches a wide audience and is uncompromising and innovative at the same time. We look forward to further stretching the boundaries of music and performance with her."
Hildur Guðnadóttir on her role as associate artist: "It is a great pleasure to be appointed associate artist of the Holland Festival 2026. Since I first played there in 2013, it has been one of my favourite festivals. I have always thought highly of their bold and exciting programming, so it is a huge honour to be part of next year's programming. It's something rare and beautiful to be able to perform with some of my favourite artists over the course of a few weeks AND hear them."
About Hildur Guðnadóttir
Hildur Guðnadóttir broke through internationally with her compelling film scores for, among others Joker (Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Grammy), TÁR and Women Talking. She also composed for Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Mary Magdalene, Journey's End, and Tom of Finland, she also wrote music for TV series such as Chernobyl, Trapped and Street Spirits.
Besides her music for film and television, Guðnadóttir built up an impressive solo repertoire. In her four albums - Mount A (2006), Without Sinking (2009), Leyfðu Ljósinu (2012; performed live at the Holland Festival in 2013) and Saman (2014) - she manages to extract a huge variety of sounds from her instruments, ranging from very intimate to overwhelming soundscapes.
She also recently performed in the Netherlands with her band Osmium, a collaboration with James Ginzburg (emptyset, Subtext), Rully Shabara (Senyawa), and producer and sound designer Sam Slater.
Background
Born on 4 September 1982 in Reykjavík, Guðnadóttir grew up in Hafnarfjörður in a musical family: her father, Guðni Franzson, is a composer, clarinetist and teacher, her mother, Ingveldur Guðrún Ólafsdóttir, is an opera singer. She herself started playing the cello as a child. She studied at the Music Academy of Reykjavík and continued her studies in composition and New Media at the Icelandic Academy of Arts and the Universität der Künste in Berlin.
Besides her own work and film music, Guðnadóttir's oeuvre also includes music for theatre and dance. She has composed for choreographer Lucinda Childs, the National Theatre of Iceland, Tate Modern, the British Film Institute, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and the National Theatre of Gothenburg, among others.
Collaborations and (guest) appearances include Skúli Sverrisson, múm, Sunn O))), Pan Sonic, Hauschka, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, David Sylvian, Animal Collective, The Knife, Fever Ray, Throbbing Gristle, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Ryuichi Sakamoto, among others.
Main awards
- Academy Awards: 2020 Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) - Joker
- BAFTA Awards: 2020 Original Music - Joker
- Critics' Choice Award: 2023 Best Score - TÁR
- Primetime Emmy Awards: 2019 Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score) - Chernobyl - before delivery Please Remain Calm
- Golden Globes: 2020 Best Original Score - Motion Picture - Joker
- Grammy Awards: 2021 Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media - Joker, along with Sam Slater
- Toronto International Film Festival: 2022 TIFF Variety, Artisan Award
- Venice Film Festival: 2024 Soundtrack Stars Award, Best Soundtrack - Joker: Folie à Deux; 2019 Soundtrack Stars Award, Best Soundtrack - Joker
- Asia Pacific Screen Awards: 2018 Best Original Score - Mary Magdalene, together with Jóhann Jóhannsson
About the Holland Festival
The Holland Festival is the largest international performing arts festival in the Netherlands and will take place for the 79th time in 2026. In June, the festival presents innovative and groundbreaking performances from around the world at various locations in Amsterdam.
Previous associate artists
Faustin Linyekula and William Kentridge (2019), Bill T. Jones (2020), Gisèle Vienne and Ryuichi Sakamoto (2021), Angélique Kidjo and Nicolas Stemann (2022), ANOHNI (2023), Christiane Jatahy (2024), Trajal Harrell (2025).
