Message from Bruce Karstadt, ASI President & CEO

It was just ten years ago, on June 30, 2012, that we celebrated the opening of the Carl and Leslie Nelson Cultural Center with an incredible array of cultural activities. Our campus hosted great food, glassblowing, Swedish and Mexican Aztec dancing, Icelandic and Faeroese musicians providing a world music concert and an exhibition of Helena Hernmarck’s tapestries filling our galleries. The attendance was about 10,000 people — a stunning number. In retrospect, it’s clear that on that day ASI became, in Nina Simon’s phrase, a “museum of and” by opening new and freshened facilities that both honored our heritage and welcomed the entire community to what has now become a gathering place for all people. Over this past decade, we’ve continued to provide an ever-widening diversity of members and visitors with many ways of experiencing ASI, as amply detailed in this Posten and our recently issued Catalog. Visitors linger in our galleries with exhibitions, such as our current Paper Dialogues: The Dragon and Our Stories, that inspire wonder and new ways of thinking about our world. Fifth graders from nearby Hope School recently spent three months with our staff designing our new Family Gallery — an experience that gave them insights into how museums create exhibitions. Students of all ages and backgrounds from around the world are tapping into virtual and in-person classes in language, craft, and food. Families are reserving our spaces for treasured moments around a wedding or birthday. FIKA Café continues to draw many who want to sample brilliant Nordic inspired cuisine. And in what are some of my favorite moments, we’ve hosted ceremonies for both Head Start graduates and individuals who have qualified to become naturalized American citizens. When the Turnblad family donated their beautiful home to create ASI in 1929, they did so in a leap of faith that a groundswell of support would allow it to thrive. At that time, the Turnblad’s were still publishing a newspaper that served the Swedish-American community, whom they were likely relying upon as probable patrons of ASI. While we are rooted in a narrative of Swedish immigration of more than a century ago, we understand today that we are but one thread of a much larger tapestry woven by all who have come to learn, live and work together in community. We were blessed by hundreds of members and friends who made possible the 2012 Nelson Cultural Center expansion. Today, the broadened support we receive from our community helps us care for our collections, provide enriching content like that detailed in this newsletter, and partner with schools and neighborhood organizations in service to our communities. As I write, scaffolding and workers surround the Turnblad Mansion and Carriage House as they undertake the first phase of a multi-year Mansion and Carriage House restoration project more fully described elsewhere in this issue. This is made possible by the generous gifts of many who have embraced their role as stewards of our iconic, historic campus. We are grateful beyond measure for this support, and hope that this inspires others to consider a gift that will enable us to complete the second phase of this project. In sum, let me thank all who give so generously of themselves to ASI: donors and members, volunteer and trustees, and our creative group of staff colleagues. Your support makes much possible and has a deep impact upon our community. Tack så mycket!

Bruce Karstadt, ASI President & CEO