Vesterheim is pleased to work with Norwegian scholars Dr. Nancy Coleman, Dr. Eva Marie Syversen, Anne Kari Vasaasen, and Solveig Glesaaen to shed light on an important part of the story of Norwegian immigration history and Norwegian American life.
There will be an opening event for the exhibit on May 9 from 5:00-7:00 p.m., and Dr. Nancy Coleman will be present to give an opening gallery walk at 5:30 p.m.
The exhibit Pioneering Pages: Forming the New American Woman tells the story of Kvinden og Hjemmet or Woman and Home, a magazine for women first published in 1888. It was produced in Iowa by sisters Ida and Mina Jensen, who were born in Ringsaker, Hedmark, Norway and immigrated with their family in 1870. The magazine would continue for 60 years and peaked with a circulation of 83,000 throughout the United States and abroad.
The magazine was written in Dano-Norwegian, the language of Denmark and Norway at that time. One of the aims of the magazine was to offer information to help immigrant women learn customs and skills to adapt to American ways of life. But the magazine was much more. Unusual at the time, this was a publication by and for women. Kvinden og Hjemmet was also remarkable for its content. From the first issue, Ida Jensen Hansen advocated for women’s education, equality, and suffrage. She offered articles to stimulate and develop readers’ intellect and make them aware of how they could use their knowledge, talents, and skills to benefit society.
This exhibit is supported by a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund from the Tomson Family Foundation.
