After a two-year pandemic hiatus, it is our pleasure to roll out the official rules and guidelines for this year’s National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition.
Vesterheim has hosted and organized this exhibition for over 50 years. The exhibition is connected to Vesterheim’s Folk Art School, whose mission is to embrace, nurture, and carry forward these strong folk-art traditions.
Our programming efforts are designed to serve a large community of folk artists, both developing artists and Gold Medalists alike. Your entries inspire our programming, and we hope our programming continues to inspire you to create.
For 2022, little has changed in the way of rules and guidelines for each category. However, we have made some adjustments to best negotiate this very special project during the busiest time of year at Vesterheim!
One important change is that we will now offer gallery sales instead of a silent auction.
How to Enter: From May 1-23, fill out the online registration form for EACH entry. Payment of $25 per entry is required at the end of the registration process. Print the identification label PDF and complete for each entry. If you do not have access to digital registration and payment, please contact Vesterheim.
Future Schedule: It is important to note that going forward, the National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition will be held every other year with the next exhibit in 2024. We are excited to be able to offer both this traditional exhibition and special-themed juried exhibitions (similar to the Social Distance, Creatively Connected exhibit that was presented during the pandemic). Alternating with the National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition in odd-numbered years beginning in 2023, there will be a themed, juried exhibition open to all folk-art disciplines. The theme for 2023 will be “Embellishment” and we encourage artists to start thinking about how they might create work addressing this theme. See the Exhibition FAQs below for more general information. Specific information about the 2023 exhibit and how to enter will be posted on the Folk Art School webpage next year.
You can find answers to exhibition questions and the complete exhibition rules below.