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Exhibits on the Move!

Updated: Apr 4

We are proud to announce that we are launching our travel exhibit program. Two of our exhibits that were curated and designed by Nordic Northwest, Sauna is Life and Swedish Cabins: The Legacy of Henry Steiner, are available to travel outside of Nordia House!


For the last several years we have curated and designed custom exhibits for Nordia House. These exhibits are created with our Nordic Northwest visitors in mind along with meeting all of Nordia House’s needs. As we have grown, our exhibits have become more popular with more interest from people and organizations outside of Portland and even the Pacific Northwest.


This interest and appreciation of our exhibits has given us the opportunity to bring them beyond our own walls. In addition to Sauna is Life, an exhibit that was developed in 2022 is also going to be traveling to the capitol building in 2025.


Our Sauna is Life exhibit will be traveling to the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, which is the oldest Swedish museum in the United States. They will be hosting Sauna is Life in October 2024 – March 2025.


Swedish Cabins: The Legacy of Henry Steiner exhibit will be the opening exhibit at the Oregon Capitol Building in January 2025 as part of the Oregon State Capitol Foundation grant that Nordic Northwest received in 2022.

 

Learn more about the exhibits:

 

Sauna is Life

From the start of life to final days, saunas are integral to culture in Finland. Sauna are an old phenomenon with its earliest versions believed to be from 7000 BC. It is marked on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This is a high honor that indicates how vital this tradition to the Finnish people is: at home and abroad. This exhibit will introduce visitors to the history and tradition of saunas while exploring the future of contemporary urban sauna as well.


This exhibit includes sauna accessories including hats, slippers, buckets and more. You’ll receive eight PDF panels, a video to play in your space, books, and more!


See the virtual exhibit here: https://app.lapentor.com/sphere/sauna-is-life 


Current traveling dates:

  • Nordic Northwest, January 10 – April 1, 2024

  • American Swedish Historical Museum, October 2024 – March 2025

 

Swedish Cabins: The Legacy of Henry Steiner

For most Americans, the log cabin represents the American frontier. The log cabin also tells the story of Swedish immigration and innovation in the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, the story of the Swedish log cabin lives on through the legacy of craftsman, Henry Steiner. In the 1920’s through the 1950’s Steiner and his family built around a hundred cabins and other structures. Nordic Northwest has one of these very cabins on its campus: Fogelbo. On the National Register of Historic Places, Fogelbo is a perfect example of the craftsmanship and style of Henry Steiner.



Current traveling dates:

  • Nordic Northwest, January 17 – June 5, 2022

  • Oregon Capitol Building, January 2025


If you are part of an organization that may be interested in hosting either of these exhibits, we would love to hear from you!


For information about scheduling the exhibit at your venue, contact Program and Exhibit Manager, Trisha Danforth at trishad@nordicnorthwest.org

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