American Swedish Institute Offers FREE Wednesday Admission Throughout February

Free Admission to Increase Access to ASI’s 2017 Migration, Identity and Belonging Exhibitions

MINNEAPOLIS—The American Swedish Institute (ASI) just announced that it is offering FREE admission on four Wednesdays throughout February from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., starting February 1 and continuing February 8, 15 and 22, 2017. The ASI hopes to increase public and neighborhood access to its new 2017 Migration, Identity and Belonging exhibitions. Among these is Where the Children Sleep, an exhibition of haunting photographs and stories of Syrian refugee children by award-winning Swedish photojournalist Magnus Wennman on view through March 5. The waived admission is normally $10 for non-member adults. The ASI is located at 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis. For more information, visit ASImn.org or call 612-871-4907.

Other related exhibitions currently on display include Swede Hollow, an installation based on prize-winning author Ola Larsmo's best-selling Swedish novel that imagines immigrant life at this St. Paul site; The Stories They Told which animates the narrative of figure wood carving; and Green Card Voices, sharing contemporary Nordic immigrant stories. Cows Can Dream, the ASI’s new imaginative Youth and Family Gallery exhibition/installation inspired by Sam the cow in Maria Bajt and Jason Diakité's children's book, encourages creativity and discovery.

Bruce Karstadt, ASI President/CEO, commented, “As we enter 2017 in a world of changing political and social conditions, I wish to reaffirm the vision that inspires the American Swedish Institute today and historically, which is to be a gathering place for all people to connect their pasts to a shared future and to understand their heritage in relationship to others. The founders of our museum came to this country as Swedish immigrants. Nearly every person I know has an immigrant story as part of their family narrative. Through exhibitions and programs linked to our 2017 theme of Migration, Identity and Belonging, we provide a place for conversations and dialogue which fuse our past with today’s local and global context.”

THE AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE (ASI) is a museum and cultural center that is a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring ties to Sweden. The ASI is located at 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, 55418. The Wall Street Journal called ASI “[a] model of how a small institution can draw visitors through exciting programming.” For more information, visit www.ASImn.org or call 612-871-4907.

ASI MUSEUM HOURS: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, Noon–5 p.m.; closed Monday.

Museum Admission – FREE on Wednesdays during February 2017. Normal admission is: $10 adults, $7 ages 62 +, $5 ages 6–18 and full-time students with ID. Free for ASI members and kids ages 5 and under.

FIKA, ASI’s award winning café, is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: 8:30 a.m. –5 p.m.; Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.–8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

The ASI MUSEUM STORE is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: 10 a.m. –5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. –8 p.m. Sunday, Noon-5 p.m.

SUPPORTERS

The Where the Children Sleep exhibition project is presented by the American Swedish Institute in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and Fotografiska, the Swedish

Museum of Photography; with additional support from the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, the Carlson Family Foundation, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, Delta Air Lines, MPR News 91.1 and ASI contributing members and donors.