Scandinavian Design FIKA meeting
The program topic for the SAHSWI 2023 March FIKA meeting was Scandinavian Design and based on the exhibition Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980 which is being held at Milwaukee Art Museum from March 24 to July 23, 2023. SAHSWI Vice President John Elliott introduced a discussion held via a podcast from the Swedish House in Washington DC where Monica Obniski, previous Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design at the Milwaukee Art Museum and Dag Blanck, Professor of North American Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden, presented and discussed Scandinavian influence of design in the 20th century. The podcast presented started at the 37th minute and ended at the 1hr 17th minute of the YouTube link below. (To hear Dag’s presentation of Swedish American Relations in the 20th Century use the same link starting at 22nd minute)
Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890-1980
Monica Obniski organized the exhibition together with her colleague Bobbye Tigerman of Los Angeles County Museum of Art and in collaboration with the Nationalmuseum in Sweden and the Nasjonalmuseet in Norway. Please find below Milwaukee Art Museum invitation to the exhibition and special program presentations.
State of Wisconsin Historical Marker fundraiser
The SAHSWI project to honor the history of Gustaf Unonius, New Upsala and the Scandinavian Parish with a State Historical Marker is now under final review by the Wisconsin Historical Society. In order to cover the cost of the marker a fundraising campaign has been launched. Gustaf Unonius was the leader who arrived at Pine Lake in 1841, together with other early settlers arriving the following year they established New Upsala, the first Swedish Settlement in Wisconsin, and together with other Scandinavian immigrants and Episcopal missionary the Scandinavian Parish was established. Today this history lives on in the St Anskar’s Episcopal church in Hartland, Wisconsin. Please find below a link to the project donation page:
Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin 