This is a list of famous or important Faroese people. In a small island-society of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, each person can gain certain meaning for the entire nation. The people listed below, are among those who played or play a distinct role in Faroese culture, politics and history. Many of them are renowned outside the Faroes, especially in Denmark and other Nordic countries.
Tórshavn, usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the 347-meter-high (1,138 ft) mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the 350-meter-high (1,150 ft) Kirkjubøreyn. They are separated by the Sandá River. The city itself has a population of 14,065 (2023), and the greater urban area has a population of 23,194, including the suburbs of Hoyvík and Argir.
Faroese music is primarily vocal, accompanied by the fiddle and European dances like the minuet and polka. During the twentieth century choirs have played an important role in the musical history of the Faroes, and some of the best known current choirs are Tarira, Havnarkórið, Tórshavnar Manskór, Ljómur, Fuglafjarðar Gentukór, and the choirs situated in Copenhagen: Húsakórið and Mpiri.
MC-Hár is a rap-band from the Faroe Islands. They were the first Faroese rap-band and the first band to sing rap in Faroese. Since the first time MC-Hár went on stage in February 1991, the band has made its mark on the Faroese rock scene. From being an underground act with a small but faithful following, the band in the late nineties emerged as one of the biggest acts in the Faroe Islands.
The culture of the Faroe Islands has its roots in the Nordic culture. The Faroe Islands were long isolated from the main cultural phases and movements that swept across parts of Europe. This means that they have maintained a great part of their traditional culture. The language spoken is Faroese. It is one of three insular North Germanic languages descended from the Old Norse language spoken in Scandinavia in the Viking Age, the others being Icelandic and the extinct Norn, which is thought to have been mutually intelligible with Faroese.
Andreas William Heinesen was a poet, novel writer, short story writer, children's book writer, composer and painter from the Faroe Islands.
Faroese literature, in the traditional sense of the word, has only really developed in the past two hundred years. This is mainly because of the islands' isolation, and also because the Faroese language was not written down in a standardised format until 1890. Until then the Danish language was encouraged at the expense of Faroese. Nevertheless, the Faroese language soon became a vehicle for literature in its own right and has produced writers in several genres.
Faroese art is art by artists living in the Faroe Islands and art by Faroese nationals living abroad. In the Faroe Islands, art is an important part of everyday life and in the public debate. It may be the special light in the Faroes which causes so many to express themselves in painting. The ever-changing Faroese weather and light provide opportunities for endless nuances, something which has fascinated both foreign and local artists over the years. However, the history of Faroese art is short, and can only be dated a couple of hundred years back. Lack of time, light and materiel may have caused the late appearance of painting. But despite this, the islands have a very active art scene. A great many of the Faroese artists of today resent being reminded that Faroese art is a comparatively recent phenomenon. They find such an observation annoying as regards their artistic work, and they claim that such a statement has no bearing whatsoever on them as artists as their frame of reference is both local and global.
Jákup Dahl was a Faroese Provost and Bible translator. In 1908 he became known as a linguist with the first Faroese grammar lessons for school students.
Summarfestivalurin is a musical festival in Klaksvík in the Faroe Islands, established in 2004.
Listasavn Føroya is an art museum in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands for mostly permanent exhibits of Faroese arts.
The Faroe or Faeroe Islands, or simply the Faroes, are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The official language of the country is Faroese, which is closely related to and partially mutually intelligible with Icelandic.
Høgni Reistrup is a Faroese singer, musician, writer and scientist from Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. He is the co-writer of the book Exit Føroyar ; he wrote it together with Heri á Rógvi. The books was published in 2012 and created a major debate in the Faroe Islands and in Denmark about the problems the Faroe Islands were facing with population decline in the islands, where the biggest problems seemed to be that half of the young people who moved away to study abroad never moved back again; especially the women did not move back again. After a period of six years with negative net migration in the Faroe Islands, the country saw an increase in the population in 2014 and 2015.
Jens Hendrik Oliver Djurhuus, called Janus Djurhuus, was the first modern Faroese poet. He and his younger brother Hans Andreas Djurhuus, also a poet, are called the Áarstova brothers after the house where they grew up.
Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins has been awarded by the Faroese government to Faroese writers, musicians, artists etc. since 1998. In 2004 no award was given. From 1998 to 2000 only one award was given, but in 2001 they established an additional award, half as big as the original.
Barnamentanarheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs is a Faroese cultural prize, which is given by the City Council of Tórshavn to a Faroese writer, artist, musician, orchestra etc. who the board wish to award for their artistic work with children. The prize was earlier called Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs, but in 2010 the rules were changed and the title of the award was changed; the word bók (book) was changed to mentan (culture) in order not to exclude people who are not writers, but still have done a great cultural work for Faroese children.
Tróndur is a Faroese masculine given name and may refer to:
Geytin is an annual Faroese film festival in the Nordic House in Tórshavn where two Geytin film prizes are handed. The festival was established in 2012. The prizes are given to a Faroese film instructor for a short film, which is no longer than 30 minutes.
Faroese Music Awards is a Faroese music prize award ceremony, which was established in 2014, after the former Faroese music prize Planet Awards was abolished when the producers Portal.fo were sold to new owners. Faroese Music Awards is a cooperation between the Faroese national broadcasting company Kringvarp Føroya, the newspaper Sosialurin, the internet portal In.fo and the Nordic House.
Elin Brimheim Heinesen is a Faroese journalist, editor, singer, songwriter and composer. She is a Master of Arts in Art History, studied at Aarhus University 1984-1986 and 1989-1991. After living in Denmark for over 20 years, she moved back to the Faroe Islands in 2007, where she became Director of Samvit, a public institution under the Faroese governance, which was responsible for tourism and export of Faroese goods, she was the director of Samvit until the council was closed in 2009. While living in Denmark, she worked as director, project manager, editor, and self-employed with her own company. From September 2009 to May 2012 she was employed as media and development manager at Kringvarp Føroya. Since May 2012 she was self-employed, and for a while she was a journalist at the portal portal.fo after being sold to Knassar. She also participates actively in the community debate on the Faroe Islands and was an active debater in connection with Sea Shepherd's Action Against Whaling, Operation GrindStop 2014. In February 2014 she was elected to the board of the new Faroese film association Føroysk Filmsfólk.