For more than 30 years, Vesterheim has been providing exciting and educational tours to Norway. These tours offer unique opportunities based on the museum’s ties and relationships with the artists and institutions of Norway.
Tour guests have the opportunity to benefit from the insight and expertise of Vesterheim’s staff and Norwegian guides. Staff members spend countless hours researching new contacts and locations that will allow us to show you the “behind-the-scenes” areas and people of Norway. We pride ourselves on giving an experience that is exceptional in every way. Vesterheim is pleased to share with you the 2012 schedule of tours to Norway.
Vesterheim looks forward to having you travel with us to Norway!
Darlene Fossum-Martin
Rosemaling - Tove Ness
Knifemaking - Morten Håkonsen
Woodworking - Eivind and Tonje Falk
Check here for more information about classes and instructors.
Since the first Folk-Art Study Tour to Norway in 1970, Vesterheim has continued to offer American artists in the Norwegian tradition the unique opportunity to learn from expert Norwegian artists in authentic cultural settings. This year, the Folk-Art Study Tour will take place in the Gudbrandsdal Valley.
Outstanding Norwegian folk-art instructors will teach 5 days of class for rosemalers, woodworkers, and knifemakers. By popular demand, Vesterheim has asked Tove Ness to teach “Free Hand Halling Rosemaling” in Norway. Woodworking instructor Eivind Falk will teach the art of constructing and decorating “shrink,” (greenwood) boxes and wooden spoons. Knifemaker Morten Håkonsen will teach how to make the brukskniv or utility knife. Classes and accommodations will be at the Birkebeineren Hotel & Apartments in Lillehammer. Situated in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, it is just a ten-minute walk from the city center.
Following class, we will travel the Gudbrandsdal Valley to see firsthand some of the best examples of Norwegian painting, woodworking, and knifemaking. Some of the places we will visit include Maihaugen; Norsk Skogbruksmuseum; Gudbrandsdalen Tre and Tradisjon woodcarving studio; Sør Fron Kirke; Isum Gard; the home of rosemaler Inger Sandvoll; Kruke Gård; woodworker Ivar Myrum Snekkerverksted; wood turner Killi Tredreiing; Lesja Church; Håndtverksstuggu; Raulåna—kirkevergen; Trondheim Folk Museum; Nidaros Cathedral; Arch Bishop’s Palace; Stiftsgarden—Royal Residence; and more.
Join Vesterheim on this wonderful tour and enjoy a community of other folk artists working in the Norwegian tradition. You will learn new artistic techniques directly from instructors traditionally trained in the craft and be immersed in Norwegian culture. Itinerary and prices coming soon!
Check here for more information about classes and instructors.
To guarantee a spot on the Folk-Art Study Tour, send in your deposit form today with a $500 deposit to Vesterheim Museum, 523 West Water Street, Decorah, IA 52101. As soon as the price and itinerary are finalized for this tour, you will receive a copy of that information, along with a "Tour Registration" form and a "General Terms & Conditions" sheet. By February 15, 2012, you must formalize your reservation by filling out the "Tour Registration" form, or notifying Vesterheim that you no longer wish to go on the tour. The deposit is fully refundable until February 15, 2012. After this date, any cancellations and refunds are subject to the terms and conditions of the tour. Deposits are accepted on a first come, first-served basis. For more information contact
Harley Refsal
Michelle Whitehill
Take the exciting, picturesque, less-commonly traveled road north—on Vesterheim’s first travel adventure focused on northern Norway and Sámiland. Beginning at Kiruna, Sweden, traveling primarily by motor coach, but also by coastal steamer, the tour will explore historical and cultural highlights of the region, including North Norway during the Viking Era; fishing; mining; and World War II. Attention will also focus on the history and rich cultural traditions of the Sámi as we visit cultural centers and museums both in Norway and Sweden.
Some of the areas in Sweden we are planning
to visit include: Kiruna; Nutti Sámi Siida in Jukkasjärvi—also the site of the famous Ice Hotel; and Ájtte—the Swedish Sámi and Mountain Museum in Jokkmokk.
Some of the areas in Norway we are planning to visit include: the breath-taking Lofoten Islands, Tromsø—“Paris of the North”; Sommarøy; the Manndalen Husflidslag in Samuelsberg, with opportunities to shop for Sámi handcrafts; the 2000-to-6200-year-old rock carvings from the Stone Age at the Alta Museum; a special Sámi experience in Masi; the Sámi National Museum and the Sámi Parliament in Karasjok; Tana Gull og Sølvsmie AS—Silver Workshop; a picnic hosted by a local family on the Russian border in Pasvik Valley by Kirkenes; and more to come as planning continues.