New York, NY—Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century continues at Scandinavia House with a range of upcoming events! Related programs now announced include panel discussions, film screenings and talks, book talks, live music, guided gallery tours, workshops and more, including notable speakers such as Maxine Gordon with Richard Brody, Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield with Calvin Royal III, the exhibition co-curators Ethelene Whitmire and Leslie Anne Anderson and others.
Nordic Utopia? explores the undertold stories of African American artists who sought new possibilities, inspiration and environments in the Nordic countries in the 20th century, and looks at the significance of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as destinations for cultural figures including Ronald Burns, Doug Crutchfield, Herb Gentry, Dexter Gordon, William Henry Johnson, Howard Smith and Walter Williams. It has received widespread acclaim since opening, and has recently been reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, with critic Lance Esplund citing it as an “important and compelling group portrait.”
On Saturday, February 22 at 3 PM, Ethelene Whitmire and Leslie Anne Anderson will be joined by scholars Denise Murrell and Tamara J. Walker (who reviewed the exhibition in Smithsonian Magazine) as they expand on the various themes, artistic output, and shared histories on view in the exhibition, as well as notable works and stylistic influences.
On Wednesday, February 26, Scandinavia House will present a screening and film talk of the 1986 classic ’Round Midnight, director Bertrand Tavernier’s love letter to the 1950s era of smoky underground jazz clubs of 1950s Paris, starring Dexter Gordon as a brilliant New York artist. After the screening, Maxine Gordon, Dexter’s widow and the writer of his biography The Sophisticated Giant, will be joined for a talk with Richard Brody, film critic for the New Yorker. Purchase Tickets.
On Wednesday, February 19, Scandinavia House will also present screenings of Dancing Prophet (1971), directed by Bruce D’Aubert Baker (which is also on view in the exhibition), and An Encomium for Doug Crutchfield, directed by Amir George, with a film talk with Doug Crutchfield’s niece Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield and Calvin Royal III, Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theater, about Crutchfield’s story and impact on performing arts. Register here.
On Saturday, February 22, join us for an exhibition-related Adult Art Workshop with teaching artist Margrethe Aanestad. Purchase Tickets.
And on March 6, in celebration of the final week of the exhibition, we’ll present a live jazz performance with Cecil and Ari Alexander with music from their upcoming album Duos 2. Purchase Tickets.
Ongoing programming includes guided Gallery Tours, taking place on Wednesdays, February 19 and March 5, 2025. All Gallery Tours meet at 5:30 PM in the exhibition elevator lobby. Register here.
Nordic Utopia? has been organized by the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, where it debuted in March 2024. Presentation at Scandinavia House has been made possible in part by the following: The Heimbold Foundation, The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, The Tova Borgnine Estate, The Birgitta Dill Estate, Arthur Zeckendorf, Dr. Daphne L. Davidson, and Daniel and Ellen Strickler.
Support has also been provided by the following ASF Funds: The Bonnier Family Fund for Contemporary Art, The F. Donald Kenney Fund for Visual Arts, and The Kronquist Mesaros Memorial Endowment Fund.
The national tour of the exhibition has been made possible through generous support from The Terra Foundation for American Art, Laurie C. Black, Nordic Kulturfond Globus Grant, Microsoft, City of Seattle, Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, and ArtsFund Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheef Fund for Decorative and Design Arts. Additional support has been provided by the Consulate General of Denmark, Consulate General of Finland, Royal Norwegian Consulate General, and Consulate General of Sweden.
IMAGE—Walter Williams, Southern Landscape, 1977–78 (Detail), Collection of the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland College Park
