The Swedish American Museum’s annual fundraising event is always a night of fun, where we celebrate the vibrant tapestry of Swedish and Swedish-American heritage and culture and unite for an evening of festivity and philanthropy.
At the 2023 gala, we proudly honored Tamara Biggs, who has been making exhibitions for over 40 years, beginning in 1981 as a preparator at Chicago’s Field Museum. After five years as a project manager at Denver Museum of Nature and Science, she became director of exhibitions at Chicago History Museum, where she led an award-winning team for 22 years. Together they created nearly 100 exhibitions, four of them winners of the American Alliance of Museum’s Excellence in Exhibition award, one a winner of the Allan Bérubé Prize from the Committee on LGBT History, and one a winner of the Costume Society of America’s Richard Martin Exhibition Award, as well as five MUSE awards for exhibit media. She was a founder of the Chicago Cultural Alliance, a consortium of ethnic museums and cultural centers, and has served on the boards of National Association for Museum Exhibitions and the National Indo-American Museum. Tamara's influence truly spans generations and she has been an instrumental asset to the Museum in countless ways.
Tamara has worked with the Museum since 2012 to envision, plan and implement an updated core exhibit on the second floor, beginning with an analysis of Dream of America and a successful grant to upgrade collections storage. In 2021, we received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to create We Are America. The $500,000 project is half funded by IMLS and half fundraised by the Museum during our 40th Anniversary campaign in 2016 and 2017. Tamara has been with us throughout the process, and her guidance and knowledge have been instrumental every step of the way.
We are now in the middle of the update and anxiously await the grand opening of We Are America.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Gold Sponsor
Matthew W. Herman and Steven T. Satek - Co-Chairs Aspire Gala 2023
Bronze Sponsor
Kenneth Norgan, Board of Trustees
Table Sponsor
Albert and Maria Goodman, Board of Trustees
Brian T. Johnson, Board of Directors
Ron and Loretta Peterson
Wine Sponsor
Bob and Mardee Gramen, Board of Trustees
Music Sponsor
The Weidemanis Family, Board of Directors
Evening Sponsor
Gunilla M. Goulding, Board of Directors
Russell and Catherine Holmquist, Board of Trustees
Law Offices A. E. Gustafsson, PC
Sky Bridge Resource Center
Dessert Sponsor
Kevin S. Williams, Board of Directors
Mix and Mingle Sponsor
Carolyn J. Aronson, Board of Directors
Great Lakes Clinical Trials
Beverage Sponsor
Matt R Olaveson, Board of Trustees
Adam G Vitale
Craft Cocktail Sponsor
Joy Thorbjornsen-Coates