Julmarknad: Handcraft Market and Festival

A Gift to Community, A National Treasure

Our story begins with visionary immigrants, their generous gift, and their dream to create lasting impact on the world. Over nearly a century, through passionate stewardship and creativity, the majestic Turnblad Mansion became one of America’s premier historic houses and the heartbeat of a wide community. Swan, Christina and Lillian’s castle is now home to exhibitions and concerts by worldclass artists, musicians, chefs and authors, the site of the region’s largest celebration of Midsommar, a destination for cultural learning, the setting of countless weddings, and a place for a multitude of experiences that challenge us to understand ourselves in a complex world. But our beloved Mansion is showing its age, and the deteriorating impact of time and weather have left their marks on its exterior and interior. All of us — whether our interest is rooted in ancestry, design and architecture, arts and culture, language, craft or food, community and world affairs — are caretakers of this cherished iconic landmark and ASI’s legacy. Together, we can continue to be stewards of our Mansion and our community.

We have launched a $20 million campaign

to rehabilitate the interiors and exteriors of the Mansion and Carriage House, and to reimagine the Mansion’s interior spaces for programs, gatherings and world-class exhibitions. We have scheduled project launch in spring 2022 and completion by fall 2023.

Visit asimn.org/support/mansionproject for a detailed description of this project and to learn where your help is needed.

With the assistance of HGA Architects & Engineers, we have developed a comprehensive plan that respects the Mansion’s historic integrity and our contemporary mission to provide accessible, beautiful public spaces for a wide range of exhibitions, programs and events.

Along with many other critical outcomes, this plan will:

Restore Mansion Interiors

Select rooms, including the Den, will be restored to their original design.

Rebuild the Veranda

Decades of natural weathering combined with salt and ice have led to irreparable damage to the limestone.

Stabilize the Tower & Turret

These iconic features are severely cracked and structurally unsound.

Restore the Windows

All 165 original windows need varying levels of repair to stem ongoing deterioration.

Brace the Solarium

Visible cracks in the stonework are evidence that the metal support structure behind is rusting and shifting.

Update Building Systems

To support future museum experiences new HVAC and electrical services are needed.

The Impact of Our Work

The project will restore and revive the Turnblad Mansion so that this historic home is preserved for future generations and can best serve our 21st-century visitors by sharing and prompting stories of how, through migration, people bring ideas that transform themselves and their communities. The project will rehabilitate the Carriage House into an accessible, functional, and tasteful space for staff and volunteers that encourages creativity and collaboration.

Photo: Michael Boeckmann

Ways to Give and Support the Campaign

Just as the American Swedish Institute welcomes all into its community, we invite you to join us in supporting this campaign.

The mission is clear. The need is imperative. The time is now.

• Contribute online at:

asimn.org/support/mansionproject

• Call us at 612-871-4907

• Email us at christys@asimn.org

• Mail a check to:

American Swedish Institute

Attn: Mansion Project 2600 Park Avenue

Minneapolis, MN 55407

Our Mission

The American Swedish Institute is a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring links to Sweden.

Our Vision

The American Swedish Institute will be a leading museum and cultural center of international reputation that invites all people to gather 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. Vibrant, ongoing ties to Sweden will illuminate and inspire these endeavors.

2600 PARK AVENUE MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55407

ASI Community Fund Announces Latest Round of Recipients

The American Swedish Institute announced the latest round of awards made through its new ASI Community Fund, offering short-term aid to service-oriented organizations located primarily in the Phillips and adjacent Minneapolis neighborhoods. Fund amounts ranged from $1,000 to $2,000, for a total of $6,000 awarded to the following groups: Alley Communications, English Learning Center, Joyce Preschool, Phillips Community Free Store and Sisters’ Camelot.

The ASI Community Fund was founded in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and seeks to help respond to emerging needs and support ASI neighbors as they build, invigorate and reimagine our shared community. ASI support for the Alley Newspaper will help launch an editorial leadership committee, help develop an advertising/sponsorship strategy to promote BIPOC businesses and encourage students to report community news. At the English Learning Center, ASI Funds support free in-person and online language, math and U.S. citizenship courses. At Joyce Preschool, ASI helps provide scholarships for tuition and food emergency assistance to low-income, Latinx students from the Phillips neighborhood to help address the access gap to quality education. At the Phillips Community Free Store: ASI support helps provide food, hygiene supplies, diapers and other household goods to community members. Sisters’ Camelot supplies community kitchens in south Minneapolis and serves free healthy food from a vintage kitchen bus with selected distribution dates at ASI. The Fund was established with independent donations, mostly by individuals, with an ASI staff committee selecting recipients. It is rooted in ASI’s founding by Swedish immigrants and reflects a commitment to sharing its own story of migration and nurturing longstanding community relationships through collaborative programs including the Pippi Project at Andersen and Bancroft Elementary Schools, PICA Head Start graduations and the Story Swap program with Wellstone International High School. ASI recognizes that there is more we can do to build bridges for cross-cultural understanding. The next ASI Community Fund submission deadline is January 31, 2022.

Visit www.asimn.org/communityfund for applications and information and to contribute to the Fund.