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“Linnea” (from Linnea series by Christina Björk)
The Fall 2011 theme for Hejsan is children’s book characters, and on Thursday, Oct. 20, we will learn about Linnea from the Linnea series by Christina Björk!
The after-school program is designed for children ages 5 to 10, where they learn about particular topics in Swedish-American culture and make themed crafts. Younger children are welcome under the supervision of an adult. Cost: $1 per child. Reservations recommended.
“Pippi Longstocking” (from Pippi Longstocking series by Astrid Lindgren)
The Fall 2011 theme for Hejsan is children’s book characters, and on Thursday, Oct. 6, we will learn about Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren’s book series Pippi Longstocking!
The after-school program is designed for children ages 5 to 10, where they learn about particular topics in Swedish-American culture and make themed crafts. Younger children are welcome under the supervision of an adult. Cost: $1 per child. Reservations recommended.
Mulle’s Outdoor Andersonville Adventure will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The Children’s Museum welcomes back Mulle to Andersonville, as we again travel the neighborhood learning to appreciate the environment and participate in nature-inspired crafts at the Museum! This family event takes place on Sunday, Oct. 16, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is required. For more information, visit the Children’s Museum page by clicking here.
The Swedish American Museum’s annual ball, Disco Ball, will be held on
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 at the Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette, Ill. At our annual dinner, dance and auction, we will celebrate our 35th anniversary, celebrate our accomplishments and future, and honor long-time Museum member Dr. Gunnar Andersson, M.D., PhD.
If you would like an invitation to Disco Ball, click here to e-mail the Museum and send us your name and address.
By contributing and attending the Disco Ball, you will share in the Museum’s mission of preserving Scandinavian heritage for succeeding generations. A donor agreement form can be found by clicking here. A sponsorship agreement can be found by clicking here. The ad rate sheet for Disco Ball can be found by clicking here.
For the latest e-mail regarding Disco Ball, please click here.
To learn more about Disco Ball and how your support helps the Museum, as well as raffle ticket sales and purchasing your individual seats for the Ball online, please click here.
Join the Museum for an evening with baritone singer and euphonium player Göran Anner, baritone-tenor singer Gustav Wiberg and master pianist Myron Silberstein. The program on Friday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. at the Museum will consist of Swedish well-known and maybe not-so-well-known music ranging from the mid-19th century to more contemporary songs.
Myron, who performed with the VOX 3 Collective group in a well-received concert in February 2011 at the Museum, says a variety of classical works, folk melodies, and popular tunes are to be performed at the concert. ”Unlike VOX’s recent Museum performance, this performance will not concentrate solely on classical music,” Myron says. ”It will have a less formal atmosphere as well.”
Göran last performed at the Swedish National Day celebration at North Park University in June 2011. All three have previously worked with Absolut Flicka choir–where Myron and Göran first met–and other performance groups in the United States and abroad. For ticket information, please click here.
Join the Swedish American Museum in hosting a discussion about Chicago
author Richard Lindberg’s latest book, The Whiskey Breakfast: My Swedish Family, My American Life, on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Lindberg is a well-known speaker, historian and the author of 15 books about Chicago history.
Lindberg’s book My Whiskey Breakfast is, in his own words, his “magnum opus.” ”It threads through the decades and ultimately becomes my personal memoir of growing up in a Swedish household in Chicago – the ravages of alcoholism and divorce in the family set against a broader historical backdrop of the Swedish immigration, the development of the Andersonvile community in Chicago and a time and place long gone,” he explains.
His inspiration for writing the book came after revealing secrets from his father’s past shortly after he passed away in 1986, and it lead Lindberg on a multi-generational journey through his Swedish and Chicago heritage. A Chicago native, he describes the history of “Swedetown” and Andersonville as well as what it was like for him growing up here. ”How well I recall as a boy, taking the CTA bus east on Foster Avenue to shop with my grandmother in Andersonville, patronizing Schott’s and Ericksons delicatessens, the Nelson Bakery, and the many other Swedish emporiums lining Clark Street. I was also prssent that day in 1964 when Andersonville was formally ‘inaugurated.’”
For more information on Lindberg, please click here.
On Friday, Sept. 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the exhibition In the Footsteps of Our Mothers…opens at the Swedish American Museum. In this display by Kerstin Rosengren, she explores the art and craft of traditional Swedish textiles, particularly those handed down through generations of women. “These weavings carry with them a big part of our history, with influences from the Viking Age,” says Rosengren. “I combine the old patterns with my own designs and ideas, as women have done in all times.”
Rosengren was born in Malmö, Sweden, and has a degree in Fashion Design. Knitting by hand since she was five years old, this interest grew into a career and she received a Journeyman´s Certificate in the profession of knitting issued by National Assiciation of Swedish Handicraft (SHR) Society and the foundation for the promotion of crafts. She is a member of ÖSKG (East Scania Artists Society) and a member of Konsthantverkscentrum.
Her work falls into three major categories: linen clothing, woolen clothing and textile art made primarily from wool and wrought iron. She uses all 
natural materials and has two trademark symbols: the rooster and the thorn. Every piece is unique and begins with a theme, starting from the same basic materials and techniques and transforming into new images reflecting issues with the global environment and politics. ”It is my attempt to intrigue the observer to seek answers in images that are at first glance identical, but that have minute differences,” she explains. ”[Asking] ‘Does this create chaos or harmony? ’”
The Museum would like to thank the following sponsors of this exhibit: City Arts Grants; the Illinois Arts Council; SWEA; and the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince.
Events scheduled for In the Footsteps of Our Mothers… are:
There is no information for upcoming exhibits at this time. Please check back soon.
The Museum welcomes food consultant, blogger and author Pat Sinclair promoting her new cook book, Scandinavian Classic Baking, at a book signing event this Saturday, Sept. 17, from noon to 2 p.m. For more information about Pat Sinclair and her career in the food industry spanning over 20 years and including many accomplishments and awards, please click here to visit her website.
This fall, there are plenty of opportunities to hear great Swedish music and
see dance performances at the Museum, starting this Sunday with Vocal Vikings. The Sunne Male Chorus will also be here this month on Saturday, Sept. 24, and a group of folk dancers from Sweden will perform on Monday, Sept. 26. Scroll through our calendar to find out more, purchase tickets online, and schedule your favorite musical event!
The exhibition In the Footsteps of Our Mothers…opens this Friday, Sept. 16, in a free viewing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information about this exhibit of textiles by Swedish artist Kerstin Rosengren, please click here.
The Museum welcomes food consultant, blogger and author Pat Sinclair promoting her new cook book, Scandinavian Classic Baking, at a book signing event this Saturday, Sept. 17, from noon to 2 p.m. For more information about Pat Sinclair and her career in the food industry spanning over 20 years and including many accomplishments and awards, please click here to visit her website.
Purchase your raffle tickets for Disco Ball, the Museum’s annual dinner, dance
and auction, at the front desk. Single tickets sell for $20, or buy six for $100. Prizes include round-trip airfare to Sweden on SAS and more!
For more information about Disco Ball and how you can contribute, please click here.
Clogmaster of Sweden Inc. will host a trunk show at the Museum from Thursday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011. For faster service during your fitting session, please e-mail clogs@clogmaster.com with your full name, billing/shipping address, and a contact number ahead of time.
Clogmaster is an American business specializing in custom-making clogs of all sizes and colors for each individual customer. To learn more about Clogmaster and Swedish-American owner Cecilia Tidlund, please click here to read Cirkulär.
Our popular Herring Breakfast is back this fall! Come Sunday, Oct. 2 at noon for traditional and equally delicious fried herring and more Swedish favorites. Plus enjoy the music of Karen Lindblad and Borrowed Light. To pay online, please click here.
On Monday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m., a group of folk dancers from Sweden will perform at the Museum to live Swedish music. Come join in the fun and enjoy dessert afterwards. Cost: $10. Reservations are recommended.
The Sunne Male Chorus performs at the Museum on Saturday, Sept. 24, a 2 p.m. They are a double quartet group originating from Sunne, Sweden and will perform for Museum visitors walking through the exhibits. This is a free event.
Carl Larsson, “Brita’s Little Nap” c. 1900
The Museum’s collections have been acquired through the generosity of donors—individuals,families, organizations, and businesses who have given us objects and materials in order to preserve the histories of Chicago’s Swedish communities. They have given us more than just objects however, they have given us the opportunity to share their institutional and ancestral stories with our visitors.
Recently, the Museum acquired objects from
The miniature room created by Judith Carlson Ohanian. Judith’s miniature is contained inside a lighted box.
two different donors that share a common theme. One is a Carl Larsson- themed miniature room, which was made in 1980. The other, a scalemodel windmill, fashioned after those on the Swedish island of Öland which was made around the year 1990. Both pieces are wonderful examples of artists drawing inspiration from their Swedish heritage. Judith Carlson Ohanian’s family moved to Chicago from the Åland Islands in the 19th century. They settled in the Andersonville neighborhood where her grandfather, Carl Johnson, worked as an architect with offices at the corner of Clark Street and Foster Avenue. Later, her father and brother both worked in the tool and die industry and engineering in Chicago. Judith jokes that it is no wonder that she became interested in making scale miniature rooms and furniture as a hobby, given her influences.
The miniature Judith crafted completely by hand is a one-inch- to-one-foot scale model room inspired by Carl Larsson’s home as depicted in his artwork. The subject seemed natural to Judith as her mother decorated the walls of their home with Carl Larsson prints. Carl Larsson is one of Sweden’s most
A photo taken by Robert Larson of a windmill on the island of Öland. This photo served as Arthur’s inspiration for the model windmill.
famous artists, best known for his illustrations and watercolors and especially his idyllic works depicting his family’s home in the town of Sundborn in Dalarna, Sweden.
Judith, inspired by Larsson’s charming images, created this amazingly detailed miniature by pouring over books about him—many of which she also donated to the Museum Library. Judith displayed this and many of her other miniatures at miniature shows and displays around the country. She is incredibly proud of her Swedish heritage and wanted to demonstrate that pride in her artwork.
The story of “Bob’s Mill” begins with a vacation to Sweden in August of 1984. Arthur and Hilma Swanson – both born in Sweden and relocated to the United States – and their friends Robert and Carol Larson – both of Swedish descent – took a trip together through Sweden in the summer
Robert and Carol Larson pose with “Bob’s Mill” as they donate it to the Swedish American Museum.
of 1984.
They visited many places in Sweden but Robert was particularly taken with the island of Öland and the unique windmills that cover the landscape. His friend and fellow traveler, Arthur, was a master mechanic and artist. Noticing his Robert’s interest in the windmills, Arthur decided to create a work of art for him – he constructed a working scale model of one of the windmills for his friend. The model rotates and pivots, like its real counterparts, and the back can be detached to see the construction inside. Arthur named his piece “Bob’sMill” and presented it to Robert at a dinner held at the Morris Park Country Club in 1990. The model has since served as a reminder of their shared heritage and as well as the shared memories of their trip to Sweden.
Bob’s Mill and Judith’s miniature room are contemporary examples of Swedish and Swedish-American artists who have used their heritage as inspiration and subjects for their creations. These little pieces of Sweden can be found all over the United States, as reminders of the artists’ immigrant history or the Swedish influences on their lives. Stop by the Museum this autumn to see these two lovely pieces on display.
Join the Swedish American Museum as it welcomes its members and many others to a day of sharing cultures. The Museum is represented by a host of cultural backgrounds and ethnicities; these will all be on display as we enjoy the many wonderful stories, foods, and musical selections from each nationality present.
This is a free event. Swedish sandwiches and pancakes will be available at a low cost.
