ASF + Scandinavia House

ASF + Scandinavia House The leading center for Nordic culture in the U.S., Scandinavia House offers a wide range of programs and is the home of ASF.
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Located at 58 Park Avenue at 38th St., NYC. Support ASF here: https://go.amscan.org/Donations Established in 1911 by Danish-American industrialist Niels Poulson and a group of other forward-thinking leaders from business and education, the American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) was the first international non-governmental society to have as its sole purpose the development of goodwill through educ

ational and cultural exchange. It was designed to meet the needs of its time through fellowships, scholarly exchange, exhibitions, and publications. These programs have grown over the years, and along with the cultural programs at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, have provided a comprehensive platform for ongoing international exchange between the United States and the Nordic countries. This international work is at the heart of the Foundation’s mission. Each year, ASF awards over $800,000 in fellowships and grants to individual students, scholars, professionals, and artists for study and research in the United States and abroad. To date, some 30,000 Americans and Scandinavians have participated in these and other ASF programs of study, research, or practical training. In October 2000, ASF opened Scandinavia House as a showplace for Nordic culture and life. Since its founding, it has welcomed over 1.5 million visitors, who have come to enjoy exhibitions, performances, lectures, and more. Scandinavia House was financed by the generosity of more than 300 donors from the U.S. and abroad, including individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as the Nordic governments and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, the leading center for Nordic culture in the United States, offers a wide range of programs that illuminate the culture and vitality of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Scandinavia House offerings include diverse exhibitions and film series, as well as concerts and other performances, readings, lectures, symposia, language courses, and children’s activities. Designed by the internationally renowned Polshek Partnership Architects (now Ennead Architects) and inaugurated in October 2000, Scandinavia House is the headquarters of the American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) and the site of ASF’s cultural and educational programming.

See a discussion and presentation on "The Finnish Front Line: Kekkonen, Kennedy, and Khrushchev’s Cold War Showdown" wit...
07/10/2026

See a discussion and presentation on "The Finnish Front Line: Kekkonen, Kennedy, and Khrushchev’s Cold War Showdown" with author Gordon F. Sander and Consul General of Finland Jarmo Sareva! Held at Scandinavia House on June 2, 2026, the speakers discussed this overlooked chapter of the Cold War as well as the revealing if forgotten episode in the presidency of John Kennedy and his secret offer to help Kekkonen, which the latter rejected, ultimately to avoid making Finland into next front of the Cold War.

Watch the full panel:

See a discussion and presentation on "The Finnish Front Line: Kekko...

Next Tuesday, July 14 at 6 PM, meet up with our Nordic Book Club Online to discuss The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram b...
07/10/2026

Next Tuesday, July 14 at 6 PM, meet up with our Nordic Book Club Online to discuss The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram by Ethelene Whitmire (Ethelene Whitmire)!

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The q***r, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he’d made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond.
Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire (an ASF Fellow and the curator of our 2024-25 exhibition Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century) unearthed a trove of Reed’s letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she’d heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram, she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by N***s and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him.

Nordic Book Club meets monthly via Zoom to discuss contemporary literature in translation. Learn more at the link in our bio!

Viking Books

Re-explore our Artist Studio tours with a virtual visit with Finnish artist Heidi Hankaniemi! Based in New York City, He...
07/09/2026

Re-explore our Artist Studio tours with a virtual visit with Finnish artist Heidi Hankaniemi! Based in New York City, Heidi works primarily with handmade textiles, embroideries, lace, and crochets, collecting and receiving damaged and discarded handiworks from flea markets and charity shops around the world. In this tour, Heidi will show viewers her studio in Manhattan, and describe a weekly pilgrimage to the Chelsea flea market, while sharing her work and installations.

See a virtual studio visit with Finnish artist Heidi Hankaniemi! Ba...

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The q***r, Black son of a housecleaner, who had n...
07/09/2026

On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The q***r, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he’d made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar.

Join us on July 14th to discuss The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram by Ethelene Whitmire!

RSVP:

Read and discuss literature with our Nordic Book Club Online! On July 14 we'll discuss "The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram" by Ethelene Whitmire.

Looking for some virtual-friendly kid's art workshops? Check out some of our favorite Wednesday Workshop activities. In ...
07/08/2026

Looking for some virtual-friendly kid's art workshops? Check out some of our favorite Wednesday Workshop activities. In this DIY family activity, you can create looms for weaving with basic household supplies such as yarn, fabrics, and shoe laces.

Watch the video:

From ASF's Heimbold Family Children's Playing & Learning Center, le...

Coming up in the Fall, on September 17, join us for an evening of Nordic music and stories exploring themes of light and...
07/08/2026

Coming up in the Fall, on September 17, join us for an evening of Nordic music and stories exploring themes of light and darkness with the newest works by globally acclaimed Nordic and Baltic maestras! This immersive event celebrates collaboration, music in the global arena, and female representation in traditionally male-dominated fields of classical, jazz and musical theatre.

Learn more:

Join us on September 17 for an evening of Nordic music with the newest works by maestras Johanna Telander, Helena Maria Falk, Anita Lerche, Arta Jēkabsone, Rasa Vitkauskaite and Simona Smirnova.

07/08/2026

Next Monday, July 13, join us for our first Teen Art Workshop of the summer — Papermaking with Scandinavia House’s Coordinator of Arts, Learning, and Language Programs, Daisy Magnusson (DAISY)! 📃

This art workshop for ages 13-18 offers an exciting introduction to the world of home-made paper – a valuable skill for anyone interested in experimentation, sustainability and material exploration in the arts. Participants will leave with the knowledge to recreate this process wherever their artistic endeavors take them, whether in the studio or at home!

As part of our Summer Paper & Printmaking series, this workshop emphasizes experimentation, imagination, and process-based approaches to art-making, allowing participants an opportunity to explore new possibilities while learning practical skills. All materials are provided! Learn more at the link in our bio. 🔗

Coming up in the Fall, Scandinavia House, in partnership with New York Textile Month, is pleased to present the third it...
07/07/2026

Coming up in the Fall, Scandinavia House, in partnership with New York Textile Month, is pleased to present the third iteration of TEXTILE TAKEOVER, an exhibition, workshop series, and symposium highlighting contemporary Nordic Textiles, coinciding with NY Textile Month in New York City. Featuring an exhibition in the Scandinavia House gallery, the program includes artist talks, a reception, and hands-on workshops. The exhibition opens on Friday, September 4, to Wednesday, September 16, 2026. More details will be announced soon!

Join us for THE COLD STITCH, a weekend exhibition, symposium, and workshop series highlighting contemporary Nordic textiles.

In September, music at Scandinavia House will return! Violinist Jennifer Gersten, a two-time ASF fellow in Music, delive...
07/07/2026

In September, music at Scandinavia House will return! Violinist Jennifer Gersten, a two-time ASF fellow in Music, delivers an imaginative program of six solo violin works by experimental Scandinavia-based composers, three of which will be presented for the first time in the United States. These works push the violin to its dynamic and timbral extremes, traversing strange territories of far-flung birds, fragmented mutterings, and butterfly wingflaps.

Tickets:

Join us on September 11 as acclaimed violinist Jennifer Gersten performs six solo violin works by experimental Scandinavian composers.

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58 Park Avenue
New York, NY
10016

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