From May 2–4, 2019, the Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest project will be bringing Nordic and Nordic-American folk artists, scholars, and community members together for a symposium on Nordic traditional arts. Following last year’s successful World Record Symposium, which focused on Nordic and Nordic-American music in the Upper Midwest, the 2019 event will focus on material folk arts in the region. The symposium will include artist demonstrations of fiber arts, woodcarving, rosemaling, and more, as well as artist presentation panels covering topics such as apprenticeships, sustaining traditions, and folks arts in education.
We’re excited to welcome Valorie Arrowsmith (weaving), Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux (storytelling), Tara Austin (rosemaling), Else Bigton (woodcarving), Torben Jarlstrøm Clausen (paper cutting), Kathryn Hartman (knitting), Andrea Herkert (rosemaling), Allen Holzhueter (knitting and spinning), Annikki Marttila (weaving), Phillip Odden (woodcarving), Pekka Olsen (woodcarving), Fredrik Prost (Sámi drum making), and Auður Björt Skúladóttir (knitting).
All events are free and open to the public and there is no registration necessary. Bring your friends and family and learn more about the amazing Nordic and Nordic-American folk arts being practiced in the region. All events will be held at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The full schedule is now available online.
For those of you coming from out of town, we’ve gathered some information on accommodation options in Madison, as well as lunch options near campus.
The event is generously sponsored by the Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest project, Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture, Mills Music Library, the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic, the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study and in partnership with the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Minnesota State Arts Board, Livsreise – Norwegian Heritage Center, the Museum of Danish America, North House Folk School, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage Center, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.