Meet Guest Curator Dr. Nancy Coleman at Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, at an opening reception of the new exhibit “Pioneering Pages: Forming the New American Woman” on May 9, 2025, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Museum Building. Dr. Coleman will give a gallery walk at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit is open through May 18, 2026.
The exhibit tells the story of “Kvinden og Hjemmet” (Woman and Home), a national magazine for women first published in 1888 in Iowa by Norwegian immigrant sisters Ida and Mina Jensen. The magazine offered information to help Norwegian immigrant women adapt to American ways of life, but it was much more! By and for women, the publishers and writers advocated for women’s education, equality, and suffrage.
“Vesterheim is pleased to work with Norwegian scholars Dr. Nancy Coleman, Dr. Eva Marie Syversen, Anne Kari Vasaasen, and Solveig Glesaaen to shed light on an important part of the story of Norwegian immigration history and Norwegian-American life,” Vesterheim Chief Curator, Laurann Gilbertson, said.
This exhibit is made possible by a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund by the Tomson Family Foundation.
Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to engage in the conversation of the American immigrant journey through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience. Vesterheim offers innovative and interactive exhibits, classes, and programs, both at the dynamic campus and park in scenic Decorah, Iowa, and online at vesterheim.org and Vesterheim social media. For more information on exhibits, classes, programs, tours, membership opportunities, and ways to donate and volunteer, connect at vesterheim.org, (563) 382-9681, and Vesterheim, 520 W. Water St., P.O. Box 379, Decorah, IA, 52101-0379.
