Four out of five contestants were young women

The young Norwegian Jonas Eckholm won the Nordic Painting Competition, which took place from 14-16 August in Reykjavík City Hall. The competition was held in conjunction with the congress of the Nordic Master Painters' Associations, NMO-Nordic, which is held every other year. The Icelandic Master Painters' Association hosted both the competition and the congress. Iceland's representative was Hildur Magnúsdóttir Eirúnardóttir, and she performed with distinction. It is noteworthy that four of the five competitors were young women, as painting is the trade in the Nordic countries with the most balanced gender ratio. In Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, the ratio is almost 50%, while in Finland the split has reached 70% women and 30% men in the profession.