April 5, 2025 - August 2, 2025

The first major traveling exhibition of contemporary Nordic folk
arts and cultural traditions from the Upper Midwest opens at Scandinavia
House in April 2025.

Opening in April 2025 at Scandinavia House, Nordic Echoes — Tradition in Contemporary Art
is the first major traveling exhibition of contemporary Nordic folk
arts and cultural traditions from the Upper Midwest (North and South
Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan). Featuring 55 works by 24 contemporary artists whose practices
are informed by Nordic traditional skills, the exhibition will showcase
the malleability and persistence of these traditions in the U.S.
Looking at painting and textile traditions as well as works in wood and
metal, Nordic Echoes highlights how variations on traditional
themes and innovations have led to the emergence of living, evolving
forms. No longer static objects rooted in an imagined past, these works
explore themes of identity and belonging as well as how traditions have
been shaped by their U.S.-based environments.

Featuring artists living and practicing within the pan-Nordic regions
of North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan, the exhibition demonstrates how traditions have
been passed down and changed or altered by new generations, often shaped
by the Upper Midwestern environment and landscape by using local
materials.