Exploring the Art of Sámi Joik

Iŋgor Ántte Áilu Gaup (artist name: Ailloš) grew up in a reindeer-herding family on the Norwegian side of Sápmi, a region that stretches over Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula, traditionally the home of the indigenous Sámi population. Ailloš and joiking are inseparable. He has been joiking as long as he can remember, and it has become key to...

Gangspil Concert

Award-winning Danish duo Gangspil is performing beloved traditional music on accordion/harmonica, fiddle, and vocals. This free concert will take place in the new Vesterheim Commons building and will also be live streamed online. If coming to the concert, just show up! If viewing online, register for a link here. Popular Danish fiddler Kristian Bugge and...

Free Second Saturday – October

Vesterheim offers free admission the second Saturday of every month. From June through October, there will be an indoor tour of the museum’s Main Building at 11:00 a.m. and an outdoor tour of Heritage Park at 1:30 p.m. Come and enjoy the museum! Free Second Saturdays are supported in part by a generous gift to...

Barnetimen Children’s Hour – October

Vesterheim welcomes preschoolers and their caregivers to Barnetimen Children’s Hour. Meet in the lobby of the museum’s Main Building to explore the museum and see how people have captured images of the Northern Lights in paintings, weavings, and photographs. Participants will make a chalk drawing inspired by this natural phenomenon before enjoying a snack. Barnetimen...

Book Signing with Patrice Johnson

Meet historian, chef, and author Patrice Johnson for a book signing of Jul: Swedish American Holiday Traditions and Land of a 10,000 Plates! Johnson, AKA Nordic food geek and meatball historian, is a cultural communicator from the Twin Cities specializing in Nordic foodways. She is the author of numerous publications, writes a weekly food and...

Bokprat: Hunger by Knut Hamsun

Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College’s Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a regular bokprat, discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. In October, we'll discuss Hunger, Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun's first novel. Set in late 19th-century Kristiania (now Oslo), the novel recounts the adventures of a starving young man...

In Trunks, Hands, and Hearts

Join the Daughters of Norway Eva Nansen Lodge and Vesterheim Collection Manager Jennifer Kovarik to explore the immigrant experience through stories associated with artifacts in Vesterheim’s collection. Between 1825 and 1980, nearly one million Norwegians left for new lives in America. We'll consider the reasons for leaving, what they brought, and where they settled. This...

Vesterheim Filmprat: John, the Last Cowboy Viewing

[vc_custom_heading text="Screening on Friday, November 10 (7:00-9:00 pm CT) Discussion on Saturday, November 11 (1:00 pm-2:15 pm CT)" use_theme_fonts="yes" el_class="medium-heading bold"][vc_custom_heading text="Location: Film viewing is hybrid – in-person in Vesterheim Commons or online on Zoom. Discussion is online on Zoom." font_container="tag:h3|text_align:left" use_theme_fonts="yes" el_class="small-heading teal"]In a twist on Vesterheim's monthly bokprat discussions led by Dr. Maren...

Vesterheim Filmprat: John, the Last Cowboy Viewing

[vc_custom_heading text="Screening on Friday, November 10 (7:00-9:00 pm CT) Discussion on Saturday, November 11 (1:00 pm-2:15 pm CT)" use_theme_fonts="yes" el_class="medium-heading bold"][vc_custom_heading text="Location: Film viewing is hybrid – in-person in Vesterheim Commons or online on Zoom. Discussion is online on Zoom." font_container="tag:h3|text_align:left" use_theme_fonts="yes" el_class="small-heading teal"]In a twist on Vesterheim's monthly bokprat discussions led by Dr. Maren...

Exploring Viksdal Style Rosemaling

Viksdalmaling is not fanciful with Telemark scrolls and imaginative flowers but instead with twisted tongues, elongated teardrops, moons and circles, and plenty of crosses. Viksdalmaling is rich in symbolism and history, yet perhaps on the verge of extinction again. This presentation is about history, trade, design, color, and symbolism in Viksdal rosemaling. Viksdal design is about the...