ASI is a museum, cultural center and historic mansion located just south of downtown Minneapolis.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Low Concert at Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery, June 9
The Friends of the Cemetery had great success last year when Jeremy Messersmith played on a nice Saturday afternoon in October. They raised $30,000 for fence restoration.
This year Low and Zoo Animal are playing on Saturday June 9th. All proceeds from ticket sales will continue to go towards the fence restoration project of this Minneapolis historic landmark. If this year’s show is successful, they believe it will become an annual event. This year also promises to have another food vendor and a better sound and stage setup.
We’re looking forward to this concert, put on by our neighbors (they’re just over a mile from ASI!) and fellow historic site Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery. Last year’s concert by Jeremy Messersmith was a real treat, and this year’s benefit concert promises to be just as good if not better!
If you’re planning on going, might we recommend sticking around in the neighborhood afterwards as Northern Spark festivities kick off at the American Swedish Institute and other venues across town at 9 p.m.? Northern Spark is a free dusk-to-dawn nuit blanche (white night) arts festival taking place across Minneapolis June 9–10. At ASI, we welcome you into our Castle Courtyard where you can enjoy an outdoor performance by the Eclectic Ensemble; Swedish-style organic hot dogs served with mashed potatoes, cold beer, pop and wine at our romantically-lit outdoor food bar; and bike (or body!) yarn-bombing.
Let’s hold our thumbs (that’s Swedish for crossing one’s fingers) for beautiful weather on June 9!
Bestselling Swedish author Liza Marklund visited ASI this morning for fika (coffee time) and a tour of the Turnblad Mansion. She was an absolute joy to spend time with! Here she is (fourth from the left) with a group of ASI staff.
If you enjoy crime fiction and haven’t read her books, we highly recommend them!
Bestselling Swedish crime fiction writer Liza Marklund (at left in the photo) was in Minneapolis yesterday evening for a panel discussion and book signing at Once Upon A Crime. (And this morning, she paid a visit to us at ASI before the tour bus departed!) Here’s a bit about her from the perspective of local (St. Paul) author—and tour bus mate—William Kent Krueger:
The Atria Gang! examined by William Kent Krueger
Here’s a photo of me with my busmates, taken at Once Upon A Crime, the fine mystery bookstore in Minneapolis. I haven’t blogged about them yet, which is a terrible oversight, because they’re a grand group. I’ll start with Liza Marklund. Before we launched, Liza (it’s pronounced Leesa) was the author I was most uncertain about. Statuesque, lovely, colossally successful in Sweden and Europe, several of her books already in film, she seemed to me the author most likely to be a prima donna. Thank God nothing could be farther from the truth. What a great and gracious woman. Not only is she a talented writer, she’s down to earth and very funny. She’s not well known in this country yet ( but that will change) and so at our events, she doesn’t have the hundreds of adoring readers crowding into the bookstore that she would draw were our signings in Europe. I asked her how she felt about that, and her reply was that it troubled her not at all, that she’s building a following here, and that all good things take time. Lovely and wise, what a killer combination.
“Decorah’s world famous eagles aren’t the only things hatching around here this week.”
- Harley Refsal, Scandinavian-style figure carver and guest curator of the exhibit “Wit in Wood: Nordic Figure Carving” (on view at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis through May 27). Refsal lives in Decorah, Iowa, and he sent us this photo (taken earlier this week) with the above message.
This Week: Swedish Music and Film in Minneapolis
We just love it when Swedish artists, musicians, authors, and other creative types - and/or their films, exhibitions, etc. - come to Minneapolis! Here are a couple of opportunities for our like-minded followers this week in the Twin Cities.
“Sound of Noise” at the Lagoon Cinema
Friday, March 23–Thursday, March 29
We’ve heard great things about this film, described as a “surreal, romantic crime comedy.” From the official website (where you should definitely go and watch the trailer!): “Police officer Amadeus Warnebring was born into a musical family with a long history of famous musicians. Ironically, he hates music. His life is thrown into chaos when a band of crazy musicians decides to perform a musical apocalypse using the city as their orchestra… Reluctantly, Warnebring embarks on his first musical investigation…”
Loney Dear opens for of Montreal at First Avenue
Tuesday, March 27 - 6 p.m. doors
Loney Dear is the stage name of Swedish singer-songwriter Emil Svanängen. You can catch him opening for American indie-pop band ‘of Montreal’ at First Avenue in Minneapolis this coming Tuesday. We’re told tickets will likely sell out, so purchasing in advance or getting there early is recommended!
From First Avenue’s website, here’s a little bit about him: “Hailing from the small city of Jonkoping, Sweden, Loney Dear’s primary member Emil Svanängen first began recording homemade, overdubbed tapes of delicate, folkish indie pop in the early 2000s. As Loney, Dear (the band has since deleted the comma from its name), Svanängen self-released three homemade CD-Rs through his website: River Fontana Redux, Citadel Band, and Sologne. As buzz developed through MP3 blogs and other new media manifestations, Sub Pop offered Svanängen a contract in 2006.”
Looking forward to First Aid Kit’s return to Minneapolis, this time for a headlining show at the Cedar Cultural Center on April 7. The show is already sold out though!
First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar (2011)
Hilarious! And it seems that Gevalia coffee is trying to help us with our mission to make FIKA cool here in the U.S. :)
FIKA: A Swedish Cultural Institution
“The Spanish have siestas… the Swedes have fika!”
“Fika” can be tough to explain to non-Swedes—or those who haven’t actually experienced it. This article is the best explanation of this sacred Swedish cultural institution that we’ve come across so far… enlightening for those of you not familiar, and a great resource for those struggling to explain the concept to friends and family.
Minneapolis/St. Paul, be prepared… the American Swedish Institute is on a mission to bring FIKA culture to YOU!
A quick note on the word itself: The word “fika” is used as both a noun and a verb, and is pronounced “fee-kah.” It originates from a sort of “back slang” type of code that was used among certain groups of people in Sweden a couple hundred years ago, where syllables were flip-flopped: “ka-ffi” (an older form of kaffe, or coffee) thus became “fi-ka.”
Harley Refsal, America’s most accomplished Scandinavian-style figure carver, is the guest curator for our current exhibit “Wit in Wood: Nordic Figure Carving,” which runs through May 27, 2012. Harley spoke at the exhibit opening reception on January 20, and we thought you might like the opportunity to hear his talk, even if you couldn’t be here in person. :)
We had such a great time partnering with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for Northern Spark last June while we were closed for renovations. We’re really excited to be a participating site at this year’s event, June 9-10, 2012!
