Did you know cows can dream? American Swedish Institute’s Family Gallery becomes an immersive play environment that explores the story of Sam - a cow who dreams and sometimes wanders through Sweden's Wanås sculpture park, appearing in artworks. Inspired by the unique children's book, Cows Can Dream, with text by Jason Diakité, a Swedish Grammy winning rap musician also known as Timbuktu, and illustrations by Maria Bajt, a Swedish artist who lives and works in Stockholm and Berlin, the book is part of the Wanås Konst Children’s Book series featuring images by contemporary artists and texts by influential writers. The books are an experiment in words and images, with each taking place at Wanås and, like the exhibition at ASI, encouraging discovery of what is art and how we all are creative. Buy the book at the ASI Museum Store and bring Sam's adventures home. ASI Family Gallery: Cows Can Dream from January 21 – October 29, 2017.
SPECIAL FAMILY EVENTS AT ASI
Families looking for things to do together can check out American Swedish Institute's Youth and Family Programming, which is extensive, varied, fun and welcoming to kids of all skill levels and backgrounds and their grownups. The ASI's eclectic range of creative activities and offerings includes the Turnblad Mansion's Third Floor Family Gallery with rotating installations and a interactive play area, our regular Family Days and Kids at the Castle events, Youth Slöjd (Craft) workshops, and our extended school year class sessions such as Svenska Skolan, for kids ages 4 to 13, mixing Swedish with fun, music and games, and På Gang, a Sunday afternoon Swedish class/social club for teens.
http://www.asimn.org/programs-education/youth-and-family-programs
OTHER EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES AT ASI:
SPECIAL FAMILY EVENTS AT ASI
Kids at the Castle- PJ Party!
Friday, January 20 from 9-10 a.m.
Wear your pj’s while you play at the castle and explore some of our favorite bedtime stories!
ASI is kicking of it’s Blankets and Books Drive. Please consider bring a donation item to benefit out local PICA Head Start families.
Kids at the Castle- PJ Party!
Saturday, January 21 from 9-10 a.m.
Family Day Addition- Wear your pj’s while you play at the castle and explore some of our favorite bedtime stories!
ASI is kicking of it’s Blankets and Books Drive. Please consider bring a donation item to benefit out local PICA Head Start families.
Kids at the Castle- Hearts and Hugs
Kids at the Castle- Hearts and Hugs
Friday, February 17 from 9-10 a.m.
It’s primetime playtime for kids and their special grown-up at the castle! Before the museum opens to the public, join ASI for creative activities including visual games, storytelling, music and movement that make it fun for young people to learn.
Events are suggested for ages 2-5.
Cost: $8 per family.
Registration is not required; adults must attend with their children.
Families looking for things to do together can check out American Swedish Institute's Youth and Family Programming, which is extensive, varied, fun and welcoming to kids of all skill levels and backgrounds and their grownups. The ASI's eclectic range of creative activities and offerings includes the Turnblad Mansion's Third Floor Family Gallery with rotating installations and a interactive play area, our regular Family Days and Kids at the Castle events, Youth Slöjd (Craft) workshops, and our extended school year class sessions such as Svenska Skolan, for kids ages 4 to 13, mixing Swedish with fun, music and games, and På Gang, a Sunday afternoon Swedish class/social club for teens.
http://www.asimn.org/programs-education/youth-and-family-programs
Handcraft Glass Fused Winter Mosaics Workshop for Youth
Sunday, January 29, 2017 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Join us! Youth slöjd workshops are designed for creative kids ages 7 and up! All classes take place in the Berglund Studio Classroom! Warm up your winter with this fun glass art workshop! Students will use their imaginations to design, cut, and arrange their very own glass art! Fisished projects will be available for pick up approximately one week after the day of the class.
Cost: $ 20 members / $25 non-member
Needle Felted Winter Wands Workshop for Youth
Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Join us! Youth slöjd workshops are designed for creative kids ages 7 and up! All classes take place in the Berglund Studio Classroom. Make your winter even more magical with a handmade needle felted wand! Students will learn the art of needle felting and learn how wool is made. Other natural materials will be used so that each wand is unique and beautiful.
Cost: $20 ASI member / $25 non-member
Register Online or (612) 871-4907
OTHER EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES AT ASI:
Exhibition Preview Party
First Look: Migration, Identity and Belonging
Friday, Jan. 20, 7 – 10 p.m.
Get a “First Look” at the new ASI exhibitions that explore ASI’s 2017 theme of Migration, Identity and Belonging, aiding in ASI’s aspiration to build bridges across cultures, create empathy and understanding. Opening to the public on January 21 are Where the Children Sleep, Swede Hollow, The Stories They Told, Green Card Voices and Cows Can Dream, our Family Gallery exhibition. The First Look preview evening is a chance to explore what’s on display through guided tours, book signings and a special panel discussion about ‘undertold stories,’ moderated by PBS’s Fred de Sam Lazaro. Panelists include authors Ola Larsmo and Kau Kalia Yang, Tea Rozman-Clark from Green Card Voices and Larry Yungk from UNHCR.
Curated cocktails and appetizers by the award-winning FIKA Café are available for purchase.
$15 ASI members / $20 non-members.
2017 Exhibitions - Migration, Identity and Belonging
Featured Exhibition
Where the Children Sleep (January 21 – March 5, 2017)
This exhibition features 22 emotionally moving photographs and stories of refugee children in the Middle East and Europe as they flee the conflict in Syria. Because of the war, 2.3 million children have lost their homes and family and left everything behind. A few offered to show Sweden’s award-winning photojournalist Magnus Wennman where they sleep now, when everything that once was, no longer exists. Wennman has met refugees in numerous refugee camps and on their journeys through Europe. Presented in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Swede Hollow (January 21 – March 5, 2017)
Informed by Ola Larsmo's book Swede Hollow, an historical novel, this exhibition will introduce a fictitious motley group of Swedish immigrants who lived in St. Paul's Swede Hollow in the winter of 1897. Original text from the book, translated to English for the first time, will be accompanied by historic photographs and a selection of objects from ASI’s collections.
Green Card Voices (January 21 – March 5, 2017)
Through a collaboration with Green Card Voices, a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization, ASI uses video storytelling to present seven experiences of contemporary immigrants from the Nordic countries who continue to play a vital role in our nation’s society.
The Stories They Told (January 21 – March 5)
Flat plane wood carving is a Nordic folk art embedded with social and cultural narratives. This
exhibition presents recognized practitioners including Emil Janel, Axel Petersson (Döderhultarn), Herman Rosell and Oscar Sjogren. By matching objects with illustrated animation by Adam Loomis, the carved figurines come to life, exploring the truths of the immigrant experience.
ASI Family Gallery: Cows Can Dream (January 21 – October 29)
ASI’s Family Gallery becomes an immersive play environment inspired by Cows Can Dream, a children's book with text by Jason Diakité (aka Swedish rap star Timbuktu) and illustrations by Maria Bajt. Sam is a cow who dreams and wanders through Sweden's Wanås Konst sculpture park. The book and exhibition are an experiment in words and images encouraging discovery of what is art and how we all are creative. Buy the book at the ASI Museum Store and bring Sam's adventures home.
Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium (January 14 – February 26)
This collection of botanical drawings and paintings of plants focuses on the growing season of a particular plant to capture its integrity; a drawing can take one or two years to complete.
Related activities will continue throughout the exhibitions. For more information, visit ASImn.org or call 612-871-4907.
THE AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE (ASI) is a vibrant arts and cultural organization, museum and historic home located at 2600 Park Avenue near downtown Minneapolis. ASI serves as a gathering place for people to share stories and experiences around universal themes of tradition, migration, craft and the arts, all informed by enduring ties to Sweden. The Wall Street Journal called ASI “[a] model of how a small institution can draw visitors through exciting programming.” www.ASImn.org. For tickets, visit ASImn.org or call 612-871-4907.
ASI MUSEUM HOURS: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, Noon–5 p.m.; closed Monday.
Museum Admission: $10 adults, $7 ages 62 +, $5 ages 6–18 and full-time students with ID. Free for ASI members and kids ages 5 and under.
