Explore the first major traveling exhibition of contemporary Nordic folk arts and cultural traditions. From painting and textile traditions to works in wood and metal, Nordic Echoes highlights how traditions have been passed down and changed or altered by new generations, often shaped by the upper midwestern environment and landscape by using local materials.

This exhibition features 55 works from 24 contemporary artists living and practicing within the pan-Nordic regions of North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Image Credit: (Above) Tia Keobounpheng, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE No. 11, 2023, pencil, colored pencil, thread on wood

Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art is a program of the American-Scandinavian Foundation with the support, in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts and the following ASF Funds: The Bonnier Family Fund for Contemporary Art, the F. Donald Kenney Fund for the Visual Arts, and the Centennial/Second Century Fund.

Mid-America Arts Alliance/Exhibits USA is facilitating the Upper Midwest exhibition tour, which is supported by Margaret Cargill Philanthropies, a generous contributor to the exhibition’s development.

Thanks to the members, donors, grantors, and sponsors who support exhibitions and programs.

Exhibitions and programs are supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Marketing is supported in part by City of Wausau Room Tax funds.

Image Credit: (Left) Peter “Pekka” Olson, Midnight Sun, n.a., Northern cedar, birch bark, bone, walnut, Photo by E.G. Schempf; Jans Paul Carlson, Ale bowl/bird; pheasant, 2022, Basswood, Photo by E.G. Schempf

Tradition in contemporary art

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