A Message from Bruce Karstadt, ASI President / CEO

A Message from Bruce Karstadt

ASI President & CEO

When we planned programs and exhibitions for the 2019-20 year, we had our 90th anniversary year in mind, for it was in December 1929 that the Turnblad family founded the American Swedish Institute and set us on a course of long service to the community.

We settled upon a theme, extra/ordinary, which was inspired by a concept brought to life by the book A to Zåäö: Playing with History at the American Swedish Institute, featuring watercolors of objects in our collection by Tara Sweeney and whimsical pen-and-ink drawings by her son Nate Christopherson. This book (which I’m proud to say was nominated for best children’s book at the Minnesota Book Awards) is a fun romp through all 29 letters of the Swedish alphabet.

To honor our 90th anniversary, we filled the mansion with unique, significant and beautiful pieces from our material collections, together with stories behind those objects and original works by Tara and Nate, in an exhibit titled extra/ordinary: Playing with History at ASI. The title extra/ordinary was intended only as a descriptor of our anniversary exhibit. But it unexpectedly served as a theme for the entire past year, as we’ve faced extraordinary challenges — both closing due to a global pandemic and then civil unrest triggered by George Floyd’s murder — that have prompted dramatic changes and successful innovations in how we work to serve and bring our community together in fulfillment of our mission.

The extra/ordinary exhibition became the longest-running one in our history, spanning 12 months. It also was perhaps our most widely seen exhibit ever, through the innovative efforts of my incredibly talented colleagues in creating digital and live-stream tours that brought it to thousands of households around the world.

We’ve been Zooming this past year with a lot of you — teaching Swedish, craft and culinary classes (to more students than ever before) and sustaining important traditions such as our Christmas market (Julmarknad) and Midsommar.

Other unique adaptations included our first outdoor exhibition (Swedish Dads) and our first (but probably not last) drive-thru lutfisk dinner.

Our focus now is to carefully and steadily bring ASI’s programs and services back to pre-pandemic levels while maintaining our financial stability. We are completing preparations and developing funding sources for a major restoration of the Turnblad mansion and carriage house that will enable them to serve as a 21st-century museum in its historic and iconic setting. And in all we do, we’re committed to being an inclusive arts and cultural museum that, in the language of our vision statement, welcomes all people to connect their pasts to their shared future, to understand their heritage in relation to others and to discover their role as neighbors and global citizens.

This past year has given me even more assurance of ASI’s resiliency and in the importance of our work. We are an inclusive museum that grew out of a Swedish immigrant experience, and we have contributed a story to many other stories and experiences that have helped shape this community and this nation. Informed by our continuing links with Sweden, we have much to contribute as we join with others to explore all that we share in common and our differences through the unique arts and cultural experiences we offer. All of our work, past, present and future, is made possible only by the many contributions of our members, donors and volunteers — and with the inspired leadership of a deeply invested Board and creative staff. Your generosity makes much possible and enables us to work with assurance that we can continue to make a deep impact upon our community. Thank you!

Tack så hemskt mycket!

Watercolor paintings of the American Swedish Institute that appear on the front and back covers are by artist Tara Sweeney as created for the book A to Zåäö: Playing with History at the American Swedish Institute (University of Minnesota Press).