Northern Exchange: Cold War Histories and Nuclear Futures

This publication was produced as part of the collaborative socially engaged art project, Cold War Histories and Nuclear Futures, which combined public engagement, conversations and collaboration among many people - artists, university students, the general public and, importantly, members of each of four Icelandic communities where the project took place: Höfn, Keflavík, Vestfjordir and Þórshöfn. The communities all hosted early warning radar stations that formed part of NATO’s extensive early warning defence system across North America and Europe during the Cold War period and continuing into the present time. Conversation and discussion formed the heart of the project, giving it meaning, purpose and momentum. The memories collected and presented in the book give personal insight into the early warning radar sites which were operated by the American military, and extend our sense of the Cold War period not only as it exists physically in the northern landscape but in the memory. The project builds on previous work that Permar and Timmins have realised through their collaboration, Cold War Projects, www.coldwarprojects.com