Byron Nicholai - Music from the Arctic

Please join us for a fascinating evening of music from the Arctic! Byron Nicholai is a musician and dancer from the Yup’ik community in Alaska. His music blends his indigenous Yup’ik language with modern tools such as hip-hop beats and social media. Byron, who has been called the “Justin Bieber of Alaska,” has performed in festivals all over the world and at notable venues such as the White House. 
After a short concert, Byron will discuss his work and related aspects with Sebastian Drude, the director of the Vigdís World Language Centre. Sebastian is a linguist specializing in linguistic diversity, language endangerment and language documentation. He has worked for many years in Brazil, doing fieldwork on small and endangered Amazonian languages. The discussion between Sebastian and Byron will focus on the importance of heritage languages, and what cultural activities, such as those presented by Byron, can contribute to strengthen and revitalize threatened languages.

Byron is in Iceland as an Arts Envoy of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with support of the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik. This event is free and held in conjunction with Vigdis Finnbogadottir Institute of Foreign Languages and the Vigdis International Center for Multilingualism and Intercultural Understanding. 

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