Join us in the Nordic Hall as we welcome writer, activist, and author of Live Lagom: Balanced Living, the Swedish Way. Anna will discuss the Swedish concept of lagom–finding balance in moderation–featuring inspiration and practical advice on how to find a happy medium in life, home, work, and health.
Following the cultural phenomena of fika and hygge, the allure of Scandinavian culture and tradition continues in the Swedish concept of lagom. From home design and work-life balance, to personal well-being and environmental sustainability, author Anna Brones presents valuable Swedish-inspired tips and actionable ways to create a more intentional, healthy lifestyle. Instead of thinking about how we can work less, lagom teaches us to think about how we can work better. Lagom at home is about finding balance between aesthetics and function, focusing on simplicity, light, and open spaces. Health and wellness in lagom is a holistic approach for the body and mind–including connecting more in person, caring for self, managing stress, keeping active, and embacing enjoyment in daily routine. Live Lagom inspires us to slow down and find happiness in everyday balance.
Books will be for sale. All proceeds to benefit SCC programming.
ANNA BRONES is a Swedish-American freelance writer based in Seattle. She is the editor of the online food magazine Foodie Underground, has been featured in the New York Times, and is a contributor to a variety of publications including BBC, Guardian, Sprudge, Women’s Adventure, GOOD, and PUNCH. She is the author of several books, including Fika and Hello, Bicycle.
*please note this film will be screened at the MFA*
We are pleased to co-present the opening night film A Moment in the Reeds (Tämä hetki kaislikossa) as part of Wicked Queer: The Boston LGBT Film Festival with Special Guest director Mikko Makelo.
A Moment in the Reeds is an intimate drama about the chance encounter of two men by the Finnish lakeside. Leevi, who left Finland behind to study abroad, has returned for the summer to help his father renovate the family lake house. Tareq, a Syrian asylum seeker, has also been hired to help, and when Leevi’s father returns to town on business, the two young men give in to their mutual attraction, spending a few midsummer days discovering one another. Among the first queer-themed feature films made in Finland, A Moment in the Reeds puts the long-marginalized voices of sexual and ethnic minorities at center stage in a story about the search for freedom, acceptance, and a place to call home.
Ticket purchases include a post-film party with the director in the MFA’s Taste Café with music and refreshments.
Thursday, March 29th | 7:30 | $30 purchase tickets here.
This film is presented in English and Finnish with English Subtitles.
Join a group of families for Norwegian playgroup! Give your kids a chance to speak Norwegian with other children while playing and learning. This month the kids will make Easter crafts!
Saturday, March 17th | 10:30 – noon | $5 suggested donation per child
In Sound An Echo, Rachael Kilgour and Sara Pajunen bridge their distinct yet complementary musical histories within traditional music from their European heritages. Kilgour is an award-winning songwriter whose sincere and lyric-driven work (‘a heartfelt slice of indie folk’ [Billboard]) has been heard at Lincoln Center and The Sundance Film Festival. A classically-trained violinist studying contemporary improvisation at New England Conservatory, Pajunen is a sound artist, composer and an acclaimed progressive practitioner of Nordic folk music with “extra elusive appeal…” (fRoots).
Pajunen’s sonic-focused aesthetic and Kilgour’s fluency in storyline combine artfully to highlight their shared sensitivity in powerful, inventive arrangements.
Saturday, March 10th | 1pm | tickets $15; $7 for SCC Members
Listen to an interview with Rachael and Sara on WTIPhere.
Photo exhibit on display in the Nordic Hall
February 5th – 28th
Johannes Pääsuke (March 30, 1892–January 8, 1918) was an Estonian photographer and filmmaker. He worked as a photographer for the Estonian National Museum beginning in 1912 and made several photographic series of rural Estonia. Best known is his photographic survey of the North Estonian coast, Muhumaa and Saaremaa islands, taken from June 10 to July 29, 1913.
A considerable amount of his photographs were made in parallel with filmmaking, with both cameras within his reach.
Join us for the next installment of Pro Arte Boston‘s Salon Series titled A Gathering of Light a combined concert of music and dance with Dance Currents.
In 1835, a young Finnish intellectual, Elias Lönnrot, published the Kalevala, the Finnish “national epic.” That book became the basis of a notion of Finnish national identity that developed in remarkable ways over the course of the 19th century. It was the focus of literary, folkloristic, symphonic, operatic, dramatic, artistic and political activities. It helped Finnish nationalists resist Russian oppression and imagine a national independence that became a reality in 1917. Over the course of two wars against the Soviet Union, and through the tense era of the Cold War, the Kalevala remained an important implement in imagining and defending a sense of Finnishness in the world. In more recent years, the Kalevala and the musical traditions and ancient heritage it enshrines have helped Finns think through the implications of EU membership and imagine the place of Finnish identity in a global world. It is a world in which international authors like J.R.R. Tolkien could experience and borrow from Finnish culture, while Finns themselves adapted the styles and rhythms of heavy metal music to stories drawn from the epic.
Join the Finlandia Foundation of Boston for a lecture with Tom DuBois as he explores the many ways in which the ancient messages of the Kalevala become revealed and renewed in culture over time.
Sunday, February 25th | 3pm | FREE; donations welcome
Tom DuBois is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Scandinavian Studies and Folklore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on Finnish and Sámi culture, past and present. His books include Finnish Folk Poetry and the Kalevala; Lyric, Meaning and Audience; Nordic Religions in the Viking Age; Sanctity in the North: Saints, Lives and Cults in Medieval Scandinavia; and the co-edited volumes Finnish Folklore and The Nordic Storyteller. Tom is a member of the Kalevalaseura, is a past president of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, and is a past co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore.
The SCC gladly welcomes back Oskar Stenmark and his own trio! They will perform a program called “In My Grandmother’s Footsteps.” In Oskar’s words:
”In Gärdebyn, Dalecarlia, you will find an important and ancient music tradition. The small Swedish village has been a cultural hub for over two hundred years. Oskar Stenmark, a flugelhorn player, is the tenth generation in his family to pass on this tradition, much thanks to his (paternal) grandmother Elsie Börjes who grew up in Gärdebyn. Elsie went on a U.S. tour with a group of fiddlers in 1956, when she was only 17 years old. 62 years later Oskar revives the music that has taken him to Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles New York. This is the first time the trio performs in Boston as part of a tour in CT and MA, with special guest and Boston local Bruno Råberg on bass. Polskas, waltzes and folk songs are mixed with improvisation, a contemporary expression and sounds from New York.”
Flugelhorn – Oskar Stenmark
Double Bass – Bruno Råberg
Piano – Alex Pryrodny
Learn more about Oskar and listen to his range of work on his website.
A story about the clash between personal desires, solidarity and tolerance in a Danish commune in the 1970s.
Saturday, March 17th | 1:30 | Free; donations accepted
107 minutes. In Danish with English subtitles.
Films start at 1:30pm. Refreshments for attendees are served at 1pm. Lunch (not included) is available in the Kaffestugan, which is open until 3pm every Saturday.
Our celebration of Waffle Day at Kaffestugan last year was so popular we’re doing it again! Swedes have enjoyed waffles in some form since the 1600’s and they remain popular today. So much so they celebrate them every March 25th (we’ll celebrate a day early here in Boston)! Often covered with cream and jam instead of syrup, these confections delight the young and old. Come on out for lunch and a waffle or just a waffle on it’s own! We won’t judge. The standard Kaffestugan menu will still be available.
Books will be for sale. All proceeds to benefit SCC programming. 
Tom DuBois is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Scandinavian Studies and Folklore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on Finnish and Sámi culture, past and present. His books include Finnish Folk Poetry and the Kalevala; Lyric, Meaning and Audience; Nordic Religions in the Viking Age; Sanctity in the North: Saints, Lives and Cults in Medieval Scandinavia; and the co-edited volumes Finnish Folklore and The Nordic Storyteller. Tom is a member of the Kalevalaseura, is a past president of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, and is a past co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore.
