Welcome to Nordic Kultur Welcome to Nordic Kultur, the magazine of Nordic Heritage Museum. This edition coincides with a tremendous event: the groundbreaking for our new building in the downtown Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Years of preparation, planning, and hard work have culminated into a visionary design for the New Nordic Museum. Among a host of new experiences planned for the facility is an expanded core exhibition which will chronicle the parallel histories of Nordic communities in Europe and North America. Nordic sagas will provide a powerful metaphor for the exhibition journey, encouraging us to reach back into the deep past, as well as to explore more recent history, focusing on the values and attributes of the Nordic peoples. For this fourth issue of Nordic Kultur, several exhibitions and programs are highlighted, starting with The Weather Diaries which showcases West Nordic fashion photography inspired by the dramatic physicality of nature. Stockholm-based artist Nathalia Edenmont captures fantastic dreamscapes with her riveting imagery. And Magnus Nilsson’s Nordic: A Photographic Essay of Landscapes, Food, and People, presents a pictorial essay that reflects connections between the Nordic people and their environment. Big Jake Bjarnason: The Gentle Giant comes to life with the story of his birth in Iceland to his career as a police officer and sheriff in Ballard over a century ago. His enormous stature and good-natured spirit kept the frontier town safe for a steady influx of Scandinavian immigrants to the area. The highly successful Nordic Lights Film Festival held at the Seattle International Film Festival brought audiences a chance to view The Fencer, a film directed by Klaus Härö, recognized this year as a Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Film. We were very fortunate to interview Härö for this issue, and glean his insights into the challenges of making this beautiful film. In addition, a fascinating interview with the founders of the Odin Brewing Company provides a look into the Icelandic origins of this fine craft brewery. For a look backstage, we describe the journey behind a recent addition to the Museum’s permanent collection: Marita Huurinainen’s “Emo” Dress, and the donation of two important books to our children’s literature archives. Also, you can read about our exciting plans for a Cultural Resource Center in the new museum, serving as a home for our expanding Nordic American Voices library. When Nordic Heritage Museum opened its doors in 1980, few could have imagined the reality of a spectacular new building. It is to the credit of our members, board, volunteers, and staff that we can truly envision a bright future for the Museum.
Eric Nelson CEO, Nordic Heritage Museum
NORDIC KULTUR
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