GALLERY TOURS | INSIDE VOICES, OUTSIDE LIGHT
2026-06-10 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-06-17 17:30 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
On view from April 18 to June 20th, 2026 at Scandinavia House, Inside Voices, Outside Light is a group exhibition featuring 21 contemporary artists from the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway. The show highlights the unique perspective of these North Atlantic territories, who share cultural and historic ties while each possessing distinct identities and communities. With works ranging across photography, paintings, textiles, film, and sculpture, including three site-specific installations, the exhibition also showcases the diversity and complexity of the region.
In these guided tours, led by Emily Stoddart, ASF’s Manager of Exhibitions and Community Programs, and the curator of the exhibition, and Eve O’Shea, ASF’s Exhibitions and Cultural Programs Assistant, learn about the artists in this exhibition and their work.
These free, 30-minute public tours meet in the Gallery elevator lobby. Gallery tours are subject to change; please check with the Scandinavia House front desk or email info@amscan.org.
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THE LAST VIKING
2026-06-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
“The best kind of straight-faced absurdism”—see Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas in the outrageous black comedy The Last Viking from Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen!
Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) has been released from prison following a 15-year sentence for robbery. Back then, the money from the heist was buried by Ankers’ brother Manfred—and only he knows where it is. Unfortunately, Manfred has since developed a mental illness causing him to forget all. Together, the brothers embark on an unexpected journey to locate the money and discover who they really are.
“A perceptive take on men’s mental health—not through struggles, but a delightful mix of genre, meta-textuality, and positive affirmation masked as a Beatles song”—Film Threat
Photo: Anders Overgaard
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MISCELLANEOUS PAPER
2026-06-13 12:00 - 14:30 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
This adult workshop series offers a gentle introduction to the tactile qualities of materials such as paper, pastel, paint, graphite, and ink. Open to all levels, including new students, the series focuses on exploration, play, and the process of making rather than finished outcomes. Participants will experiment with a range of techniques across sessions, including acrylic and watercolor painting, pastel work, ink practices, drawing with graphite and charcoal, and creating sculptural forms from paper, while also engaging with relevant art history and contemporary art. Each class invites a meditative and attentive approach, encouraging students to discover inspiration from both inner and outer worlds. Sessions conclude with supportive group reflections that honor each participant’s process and discoveries. As part of the experience, students will also explore the 3rd floor gallery exhibition “Inside Voices, Outside Light: Perspectives on West Nordic Art.”
In this course, students will explore and experiment with making sculptural forms out of paper.
The series can be taken as a full progression or as individual, standalone classes, with participation limited to 12 students aged 20 and above.
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IN OUR PLACE | STAGED READING WITH THE SATC
2026-06-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
In celebration of Scandinavia House’s 25th anniversary, SATC is proud to present a staged reading of In Our Place by acclaimed Norwegian playwright Arne Lygre, the winner of 2026’s honorable Hedda Award (Heddaprisen)! The reading will feature special guest actor Rakel Benér Gajdusek, who has worked regularly at Dramaten (The Royal Dramatic Theatre) in Stockholm since 2015.
Astrid has shared a long and intimate friendship with Eva—a bond that has shaped them both. But when Astrid meets Sara, a fragile new connection begins to form, challenging the boundaries of their worlds. Who can they be to one another? Is it possible for them to hold a greater and more meaningful place in each other’s lives? In Our Place is a piercing exploration of the human need for connection: our desire to be seen, to hold space for one another, and to find our own identities reflected in the eyes of others. Beneath its delicate surface lies a quiet, universal fear: the dread of being left out, of being replaceable, and of ultimately ending up alone.
Produced in Norway at Nationaltheatret in Oslo in 2023, at Den National Scene, Teaterkjelleren, Bergen in 2024 and as a touring production with Riksteatret in 2025, In Our Place also had a successful run at Stadsteatern, Stockholm in 2025.
SATC has a long-standing history with Lygre’s work. In 2013, SATC produced a staged reading of his play Then Silence at Scandinavia House, which successfully developed into a full Off-Broadway production at Theatre Row in 2016. SATC is thrilled to bring Lygre’s latest powerful work to our audiences.
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OSKAR STENMARK | NORDIC SUMMER JAZZ
2026-06-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Our popular Nordic Summer Jazz Series returns to Scandinavia House, with performances from some of Scandinavia’s most talented jazz musicians, composers, and singers in Victor Borge Hall!

On June 18, join us for a night of the past, present, and future as horn player Oskar Stenmark takes the stage. A 10th-generation musician originally from Gothenburg, Sweden, Oskar presents a journey where centuries of music and stories come together—thanks to his grandmother, Elsie Börjes who has kept these traditions alive. Elsie went on tour in the U.S. (including New York City) with a group of fiddlers from Rättvik, Dalecarlia, back in 1956. Seventy years later, the music is still going! The performance will feature footage captured on the 1956 tour, creating a multisensory experience where tradition meets innovation.

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MIDSUMMER PRIX FIXE | BJÖRK CAFE & BISTRO
2026-06-19 11:00 - 20:00 | Björk Cafe & Bistro at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Glad Midsommar! Celebrate the solstice on June 19 with a special prix-fixe at Björk Cafe & Bistro. The menu features a special Midsummer Plate of Scandinavian favorites: Gravlax, pickled herring, Matjes herring, Jansson’s Temptation, red beet salad, Skagen, Swedish meatballs, Lingonberry preserve, pickled cucumbers, & fingerling potato. The menu also offers a welcoming drink course and a summertime dessert of fresh strawberries, whipped cream, rhubarb crumble, and more!
We’ll also be offering a special carryout deal ahead of the Swedish Midsummer Celebration in Rockefeller Park on Saturday, June 20; learn more here!

$55/PP
RESERVATIONS

Photo by Linus Mimietz on Unsplash

MIDSUMMER FAMILY CELEBRATION
2026-06-20 13:00 - 16:30
Attention, NYC families! The Heimbold Children’s Center invites you to join us for a Family Midsummer Celebration. Midsummer marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and is a time for lively celebration of light, abundance, and the beauty of the summer season.
Bring your family and join us for an afternoon of art, music, flowers and more! From 1:00-4:30pm, learn to craft traditional flower crowns using real florals, make your own printed textile bandana, add a wish to our community garland, enjoy seasonal refreshments, and create your own Swedish candy Pick-n-Mix!
This workshop is intended for children from ages one to ten. Every participant—adults and children alike—must buy their own ticket to attend. Reservations are strongly encouraged.
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SOLD OUT — INVITATION TO TRANCE: AAPO NIKKANEN & RAUDIE MCLEOD
2026-06-23 18:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
*Please note: this event is now sold out.*
Join Scandinavia House and the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York (FCINY) on June 23 for an evening with Finnish artist, researcher, and hypnotherapist Aapo Nikkanen! Nikkanen will be joined by composer and longtime collaborator Raudie McLeod to discuss their unique artistic practices and present their work through a group hypnosis session.
*This event is for audiences 18+. Late entry will not be permitted.*
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

AAPO NIKKANEN is an artist, researcher, and a trained hypnotherapist. His current work focuses on hypnotic performances and photography. In 2024, he earned a hypnotherapist’s degree, and he runs a hypnotherapy cabinet in Paris. Alongside his artistic practice, Nikkanen researches and periodically writes about new technologies.
In his performances, the guests visit speculative realities through hypnosis. The content of the pieces deals with the development of new technologies, their asymmetrical power concentration, and their potential political, ecological, and psychological impacts.
The work of Nikkanen has been shown internationally for the past 10 years. His work has exhibited in numerous international institutions, including CAC Ivry – Le Crédac, Palais de Tokyo and GB Agency in Paris, New Performance Turku Biennale and Design Museum in Finland, Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Living Art Museum in Iceland, Casa Encendida in Madrid, and de Appel Art Center in Amsterdam. In 2016 co-founded Parisian art space and collective The Community, where he acted as the Director of Art until departing in 2020.
RAUDIE MCLEOD is a classically trained orchestral percussionist whose early career was shaped by the music of modernist composers such as Frank Ticheli and Eric Whitacre, alongside percussion-and-minimalist pioneers Steve Reich and Philip Glass. McLeod has released several albums under various aliases and toured extensively as River Yarra. In 2023, he embarked on a new project, River Y, which can be characterized as less stylistically defined and more sonically open, drawing inspiration not only from contemporary music but from technological processes of the 21st century. The project is replete with repurposed audio snippets from viral or obscure social media posts which are then abstracted through technology ill fit for the purpose, taking artificially generated sound sources that are animated and mangled in his compositions. In addition to his personal work, Mcleod regularly scores for theater, film, and clients. His commissions and collaborators include Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, Andreas Pappamikail, Aapo Nikkanen, and NTS Radio.

SIRINTIP | NORDIC SUMMER JAZZ
2026-06-23 19:00 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Our popular Nordic Summer Jazz Series returns to Scandinavia House, with performances from some of Scandinavia’s most talented jazz musicians, composers, and singers in Victor Borge Hall!

On June 23, join us for an evening with Swedish-Thai singer, composer and producer Sirintip. At Scandinavia House, she will present music from her upcoming EP, a personal work shaped by grief, memory, and transformation, interpreted through a contemporary jazz lens.

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THE DANCE CLUB
2026-06-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
“Heartfelt and energetic”—on June 24, see the quirky, charming romantic comedy The Dance Club from Swedish director Lisa Langseth!
When the eccentric psychology student Johannes (Nils Wetterholm) meets the charismatic performance artist Rakel (Alva Bratt) during his internship at an oppressive, rigid psychiatric clinic, a radical idea is born. Together, they start a secret club where the members—his own patients—are encouraged to explore remedies beyond diagnoses and pills and.confront those who have caused them pain. But as the club grows and the methods become increasingly extreme, things get complicated when Johannes inconveniently falls head over heels for Rakel.
Photos: Jonas Alarik
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SUPPORT
This program is supported by the Swedish Film Institute and the Swedish Institute.

BERT RUINS EVERYTHING
2026-07-01 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
On July 1, see the tender coming-of-age comedy Bert Ruins Everything from Swedish director Manuel Concha (Suedi, Bäckström)!
Based on the iconic Bert Diaries books from writers Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson, Bert Ruins Everything follows teenage best friends Bert (Axel Adelöw) and Åke as they embark on their school-mandated internship week between 8th and 9th grade.
Bert ends up at Tippen, his classmate’s family-owned restaurant. There, he meets Molly (Matilda Gross), a captivating prep cook and falls head over heels. All’s well that ends well – if it weren’t for the fact that Åke is also in love with Molly. Weaving an intricate web of lies and navigating an extraordinary love triangle over the course of the week, Bert finds himself careening towards an explosion, and risks losing both his best friend and his great love in the process.
Photos: Carl Nilsson
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SUPPORT
This program is supported by the Swedish Film Institute and the Swedish Institute.

HOLIDAY EARLY CLOSURE | BJÖRK CAFE & BISTRO
2026-07-03 11:00 - 16:00 | Björk Cafe & Bistro at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Björk Café and Bistro will close at 4 PM on Friday, July 3 in advance of Independence Day Weekend.
Both Scandinavia House and Björk Café will otherwise be closed from July 4-6 for the holiday weekend. We will reopen with normal hours on Tuesday, July 7.
Happy Independence Day Weekend!

HOLIDAY CLOSURE
2026-07-04 08:00 - 21:00, 2026-07-05 08:00 - 21:00, 2026-07-06 08:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Scandinavia House will be closed from Saturday, July 4 through Monday, July 6 for Independence Day Weekend. This includes Björk Café and Bistro, the Shop at Scandinavia House, and Offices at Scandinavia House. We will reopen with normal hours on Tuesday, July 7.
See you after the holiday!

THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF REED PEGGRAM | NORDIC BOOK CLUB ONLINE
2026-07-14 18:00 - 19:00
Read and discuss literature with our Nordic Book Club Online! Nordic Book Club meets monthly via Zoom to discuss contemporary literature in translation. On July 14, 2026, we’ll discuss The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram by Ethelene Whitmire!
The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram: The Man Who Stared Down World War II in the Name of Love is dramatic and heartrending true story of one remarkable young man’s account of love in the time of war by a celebrated historian of untold Black stories
On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, 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 Nazis 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.
The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram is available in hardback, ebook and audio from Penguin Random House and various other retailers.
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CHILDREN'S CENTER CLOSURE
2026-08-25 - 2026-09-07
The Children’s Center at Scandinavia House will be closed for renovation from August 25th – September 7th.
We will resume normal hours on Tuesday, September 8th. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

LIVE A LITTLE | NEW NORDIC CINEMA
2026-08-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
On August 26, see Swedish director Fanny Ovesen’s “vibrant” coming-of-age drama Live a Little!
Best friends Laura and Alex set off on a summer Interrail adventure across Europe. After a night of partying in Warsaw, Laura wakes up naked in a stranger’s bed—and with no memory of what happened. As the two young Swedes couchsurf their way across Prague, Berlin, and Paris, fragments of that night return and Laura’s doubts mount, pushing her to confront her own limits in a quest for truth and self-discovery.
Fanny Ovesen’s crackling coming-of-age debut relies on patient, attentive observation by letting emotional truth surface in small gestures. At the center of Live a Little is an intimate portrayal of female friendship, and Embla Ingelman-Sundberg’s breakout performance as Laura makes her a talent to watch.
Photos: Mattias Pollak
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BATTLE OF OSLO | NEW NORDIC CINEMA
2026-09-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
On September 2, see the gripping war drama Battle of Oslo! A box office hit in Norway, this gripping true story of courage under fire recounts the decisive actions of Colonel Birger Eriksen, whose fateful choice shaped Norway’s destiny.
9 April 1940. Norway stands under siege as German warships steam toward Oslo. Colonel Birger Eriksen (Bjørn Sundquist), commander of the undermanned Oscarsborg Fortress, has no reinforcements, no clear orders, and time is slipping away. In a bold decision that alters history, he orders the launch of the first shots against the invasion, sinking the heavy cruiser Blücher in a stunning blow.
In a symbol of defiance, they heroically stall the enemy advance and buy precious hours before a full-scale occupation can take hold. Yet victory comes at a steep cost. For ten gruelling hours, Eriksen and his brave garrison endure relentless German bombardment, trapped on their island stronghold. With shells raining down and the fortress crumbling amid the chaos of unyielding assault, Eriksen fights not only to protect his beleaguered nation, but to safeguard the lives of his closest comrades and family.
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NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER: THE COLD STITCH
2026-09-04 12:00 - 2026-09-16 17:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Scandinavia House, in partnership with New York Textile Month, is pleased to present the third iteration of NORDIC 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 shortly.
THE COLD STITCH is a Nordic textile collaboration project co-organized by Ragna Froda (ISL/US), Director of New York Textile Month, and Emily Stoddart (CA), manager of exhibitions and community programs at Scandinavia House, New York. The exhibition has been curated by Ragna Froda (ISL/US).
ABOUT THE COLD STITCH
In the Nordic countries, stitching has long been more than decoration or domestic craft. It is a necessity, a form of storytelling, survival, memory, and care. In landscapes shaped by cold climates and long winters, textiles have become vessels of warmth, protection, repair, and continuity, carrying traces of everyday life and cultural identity across generations.
THE COLD STITCH brings together artists from across Scandinavia whose practices engage with textiles as both material and language. Through quilting, patchwork, collage, weaving, hand embroidery, sculptural textiles, and visible and invisible stitching, this exhibition explores how textile traditions have continued to evolve within contemporary art. The exhibition’s title refers both to the geography of the North, the relationship with textiles and the act of stitching itself.
A stitch repairs, connects, layers, and transforms. It binds fragments together while allowing histories, emotions, reflections on the political climate, and personal narratives to remain visible. Echoing this feature, many of the works in the exhibition embrace reuse and transformation, giving discarded fabrics, garments, yarns, and textile remnants new meaning through the artistic process.
THE COLD STITCH celebrates textile art as a living and evolving practice deeply rooted in the cultures of the North, where there is a strong tradition of working with textiles as an art form and where stitching continues to mend, preserve, and reimagine the world around us.
Banner image credit: Ellen Dynebrink, Kiyoshi Yamamoto, Nora Strand, Lee Jensen, and Heidi Hankaniemi
TEXTILE TAKEOVER is presented in partnership with New York Textile Month.

NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER | CURATOR WALKTHROUGHS
2026-09-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Please join us on Saturday, September 5th & September 16 a curatorial walkthroughs of The Cold Stitch by Ragna Froda, Curator and Director of New York Textile Month.
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ABOUT THE CURATOR

Ragna Froda is an Icelandic artist, curator, and educator with a background in fashion/textile design. Festival Director of New York Textile Month since 2020. A receiver of various grants for her work and projects, and her contribution to the arts. Her work focuses on the process of making, working with colors and textures, and the history and culture of symbols and patterns in textiles. With a strong passion for textiles, innovation, and craft, storytelling through hybrid layers of craft and technology is the foundation of Ragna´s practice. Early in her career, she ran her fashion and textile studio in Reykjavík Iceland. In the past 15 years, she has been living in New York, Berlin and Reykjavik. In Reykjavik, she was head of Textiles at Reykjavik School of Visual Arts and is currently living in New York where she runs her studio practice and works as the director of Edelkoort Inc and New York Textile Month.

NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER | BASKET WEAVING
2026-09-08 17:30 - 20:30
Join us for a creative, hands-on workshop led by artist and designer Lelia Bacchi. In this engaging session, you’ll explore the traditional craft of basket weaving using natural and sustainable materials. Whether you’re a complete beginner or have some experience, Lelia will guide you step by step through the process—from preparing your materials to weaving and shaping your very own basket. You’ll leave not only with a beautiful handmade piece, but also with a deeper appreciation for this meditative and timeless technique. The workshop offers a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere where creativity and experimentation are encouraged. All tools and materials will be provided. Just bring your curiosity, and get ready to learn, create, and connect with others through the simple joy of weaving.
This program will take place in this year’s NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Lelia Bacchi is a textile artist with a deep fascination for the intersection of material, process, and meaning. Her work explores themes of identity, emotion, and the relationship between sound, silence, and the human experience.

WEIGHTLESS | NEW NORDIC CINEMA
2026-09-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
“A smart, striking debut” (Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter)—On September 9, see the tender coming-of-age story Weightless! Emilie Thalund’s debut feature shines a light on self-acceptance, friendship, desire and growing up.

Fifteen-year-old Lea is spending her summer at a health camp tucked between the forest and the sea. Her new roommate, Sasha, is everything Lea wishes she could be: bold, magnetic, and unafraid to take up space in the world. While Sasha flirts with the local boys, Lea’s gaze is fixed on Rune, the camp’s charming instructor. When Rune reciprocates her attention, something awakens within Lea; an unfamiliar yet thrilling desire.
Winner of the New Directors Competition at the San Sebastián Film Festival 2025 and the FIPRESCI Prize at this year’s Göteborg Film Festival, WEIGHTLESS has already enjoyed major festival success. From debut director Emilie Thalund, the film presents a bold and intimate exploration of adolescent desire and identity, following 15-year-old Lea during a transformative summer, capturing the delicate balance between longing, self-discovery, and the complexities of emerging sexuality. This poignant coming-of-age story offers a fresh and honest voice in contemporary cinema.

Photos: Louise McLaughlin
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JENNIFER GERSTEN | CONCERT
2026-09-10 19:30 - 20:30 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
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. The program will conclude with a world premiere of a new work by Gersten and the Norwegian composer and double bassist Inga Margrete Aas.
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NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER | OPENING CELEBRATION
2026-09-12 14:00 - 18:00
Scandinavia House, in partnership with New York Textile Month, is pleased to present the third iteration of NORDIC 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.
Please join us on Saturday, September 12 for a program and opening reception for The Cold Stitch. An introduction by Emily Stoddart, Co-Organizer of The Cold Stitch and Manager of Exhibitions and Community Programs at Scandinavia House, will be followed by artist talks by Nora Martine Hjelle Strand, Thorunn Elisabet Sveinsdottir, and Ingunn Fjóla IngÞórsdóttir, all of whom are presenting work in this year’s exhibition. Following the talks, Ragna Froda, Curator of The Cold Stitch and Founder of New York Textile Month, will lead a Curatorial Walkthrough of the galleries. An opening reception beginning at 4pm will round out the afternoon.

This program will take place in this September’s NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER, resented in partnership with New York Textile Month.
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Work by: Nora Martine Hjelle Strand, Thorunn Elisabet Sveinsdottir

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ingunn Fjóla Ingþórsdóttir (b. 1976) is an Icelandic artist based in Denmark. Working across textiles, painting, drawing, and installation, she explores the structures and systems that shape human life, and the ways individuals negotiate, adapt, and transform them.
Ingunn Fjóla’s work has been exhibited widely in Iceland, Denmark, Germany, and the United States, and is represented in numerous public and private collections in Iceland. Recent solo exhibitions include The Only Constant Is Change at the National Gallery of Iceland and You Are the Input at LÁ Art Museum in Hveragerði. In 2022, she received the Guðmunda S. Kristinsdóttir Art Award for Outstanding Female Artists in Iceland.
Ingunn Fjóla holds an MA in Fine Art (2017) and a BA in Fine Art (2007) from the Iceland University of the Arts, as well as a BA in Art History (2002) from Aarhus University, Denmark.

Nora Martine Hjelle Strand is a Norwegian artist based in Bergen, Norway. Her practice centers on processing memories and emotions through physical action. This is the starting point for her autobiographical textile works, which are built through repetitive, time-consuming techniques such as weaving and hand-quilting. Strand is interested in how we are connected as human beings, and how experience shapes the way we live – a theme she explores both directly, through text, and indirectly, through color and imagery. Every work begins with the personal. The finished piece becomes a physical trace of the internal process behind it: every thread holds a thought, every stitch a memory.

Thorunn Elisabet (Totalisa) is an artist and costume/set designer based in Reykjavik, Iceland, whose career spans more than four decades across theatre, film, and fine art.
As a visual artist, Thorunn Elisabet is known for her storytelling through textiles, transforming repurposed fabrics, garments, and old cloth into large-scale quilts and sculptural works that give discarded materials new meaning and value. Her practice reflects a lifelong instinct for giving material history a second life.
She has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions and is a member of both The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists and The Icelandic Actors and Drama Guild. She recently received the distinguished GRIMAN Honorary Award for both costume/set design and her curatorial work through her successful career.
Her life and work have also been the subject of two published books: I Love Being Alive – A Testimony of a Unique Icelandic Artist and She Is My Sweetheart For 50 Years.

NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER | STITCHING CIRCLE
2026-09-13 12:00 - 16:00
In this workshop you will join three celebrated Nordic textile artists, Thorunn Elisabet Sveinsdottir, Nora Martine Hjelle Strand, and Andrea Magdalena Jónsdottir, all of whom work with embroidery and stitching in a range of ways, and are included in NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER: The Cold Stitch. Meet them, spend time with them, and learn with them, needle in hand.
At the heart of this year’s Nordic Textile Takeover is the tradition of gathering, and learning alongside one another. Bringing embroidery back to its social roots, this workshop will create a meeting point, wherein stories and skills are shared through the act of creation.
Throughout this workshop and gathering, you will have the opportunity to engage with all three artists, learning about their respective practices, as well as different stitches and stitching techniques, experiencing the way in which the act of stitching in community can become a platform for the exchange of knowledge.
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Thorunn Elisabet (Totalisa) is an artist and costume/set designer based in Reykjavik, Iceland, whose career spans more than four decades across theatre, film, and fine art. As a visual artist, Thorunn Elisabet is known for her storytelling through textiles, transforming repurposed fabrics, garments, and old cloth into large-scale quilts and sculptural works that give discarded materials new meaning and value. Her practice reflects a lifelong instinct for giving material history a second life. She has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions and is a member of both The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists and The Icelandic Actors and Drama Guild. She recently received the distinguished GRIMAN Honorary Award for both costume/set design and her curatorial work through her successful career. Her life and work have also been the subject of two published books: I Love Being Alive – A Testimony of a Unique Icelandic Artist and She Is My Sweetheart For 50 Years.

Nora Martine Hjelle Strand is a Norwegian artist based in Bergen, Norway. Her practice centers on processing memories and emotions through physical action. This is the starting point for her autobiographical textile works, which are built through repetitive, time-consuming techniques such as weaving and hand-quilting. Strand is interested in how we are connected as human beings, and how experience shapes the way we live – a theme she explores both directly, through text, and indirectly, through color and imagery. Every work begins with the personal. The finished piece becomes a physical trace of the internal process behind it: every thread holds a thought, every stitch a memory.

Andrea Magdalena Jónsdóttir is a visual artist based in Reykjavík, Iceland. Her medium is textile and in particular hand embroidery. Her work explores situations where something is not at its right place, or something is missing but at the same time it appears familiar in the context of the setting. In recent work, Andrea works with her own memory notes, found text and mending. For her, working with thread offers tactile connection with the subject, in a slow but mindful process. Andrea has a BA degree in Anthropology, she studied visual art and design at the Iceland University of the Arts and holds an MA degree in Art Education from the same university. She has worked as an education and mediation specialist at the Reykjavík Art Museum and currently she teaches visual art at Fjölbrautaskólinn in Breiðholt, collage in Reykjavík, Iceland.

DRAWING FROM ART: SWEDEN
2026-09-14 17:30 - 20:00
Learn about Nordic art in this hands-on, in-person drawing course pairing brief informal lectures on celebrated Nordic artists with guided transcription and drawing exercises. Each 2.5-hour session, led by artist Charity Baker, will begin with a 30-minute artist overview, followed by demonstrations and 1.5 hours of drawing directly from works using graphite, charcoal, ink, or colored pencils. We’ll begin the series by delving into the art of Sweden.
This adult art workshop will deepen participants’ familiarity with key Scandinavian artists and art movements from 5 countries. Weekly classes can be taken individually or as a complete group to study historic and contemporary Scandinavian approaches to line, tone, composition, and texture.
This workshop is part of a 6-session series; you can choose between single tickets or a ticket bundle. All materials are provided. No prior experience is required. (18+)
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SWEDISH 1.3 — ENROLLMENT OPEN
2026-09-14 18:00 - 19:30 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Learn the Nordic languages this fall at Scandinavia House! In Swedish 1.3, students will continue to perfect their previous learned skills and pronunciation, while also expanding into more complex sentence structure. Furthermore, the students will be asked to express their opinions or beliefs in simple discussions related to Swedish life within the themes studied.
Grammatically, students will work on conjugation of adjectives, indefinite pronouns, using past tense, present perfect, more regarding time and dates, talking about the weather, adverbs, numbers as nouns, using future tense, more prepositions and possibly learn some more phrasal verbs, in addition to building vocabulary and using more complex sentence structures.
This hybrid class will be held both in-person and via Zoom; in-person attendance for the first four classes is highly recommended. Classes take place on Mondays from 6:00–7:30 PM beginning September 14 through November 23, 2026.
*Please note that there will be no class the week of October 19.*
Instructions for remote learning will be emailed upon registration. For questions about language levels, please contact instructor Ingrid Kullberg-Bendz. Tuition is $675 ($607.50 ASF Members); 20 hours total class time.
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SWEDISH 1.2 — ENROLLMENT OPEN
2026-09-14 19:35 - 21:35 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Learn the Nordic languages in classes offered at Scandinavia House, held in-person and virtually! This course builds upon Swedish 1.1 or its equivalent. Students will learn sentence structure in sentences with more than one verb, placement of adverbs, plural endings, conjugation of adjectives, objective and possessive pronouns, and the past tense. Various cultural aspects will also be highlighted during the course. This class will take place as hybrid learning, with classes offered at Scandinavia House and online via Zoom.
This hybrid class will be held both in-person and via Zoom; in-person attendance for the first four classes is highly recommended. Classes take place on Mondays from 7:35–9:35 PM beginning September 14 through November 23, 2026.
At the end of the semester students will know:
• How to structure sentences with more than one verb
• The conjugation of adjectives
• The past tense
And be able to:
• Talk about themselves and what they do in their day
*Please note that there will be no classes the week of October 19.*
Prerequisite: Swedish 1.1 or equivalent; instructions for remote learning will be emailed upon registration. For questions about language levels, please contact Ingrid Kullberg-Bendz. Tuition is $675 ($607.50 ASF Members); 20 hours total class time.
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