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Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, recently announced Mary Jo (Hanson) Boman and the Hanson Family Foundation provided an additional gift to the museum, contributing a total of $2 million for Strong Roots | Bold Future, a campaign to Grow Vesterheim. In recognition of the family’s ongoing support of Vesterheim’s mission, the new Vesterheim Commons building has been renamed Hanson Vesterheim Commons.
“We are extremely grateful for this significant and important gift,” Chris Johnson, Vesterheim president/CEO, said. “This is an exciting moment for Vesterheim. With this gift, we are celebrating a bold new era of Vesterheim’s ability to welcome visitors, host events, display collection objects, provide folk art education and experiences and reach a worldwide audience. Hanson Vesterheim Commons is a tangible way that the Hanson Family’s beautiful legacy of service to Vesterheim will forever be part of Vesterheim’s story.”
The Hanson Family Foundation was established in 1971 by Mary Jo Boman’s parents, John K. and Luise V. Hanson, founders of Winnebago Industries in Forest City. The Hanson family can trace their heritage to the Numedal, Gudbrandsdalen, Hardanger and Telemark regions of Norway. During the 1970s, John K. Hanson’s sister Barbara Bulman served on the Vesterheim Board of Trustees, and John K. Hanson’s grandson Greg Boman now serves as a Vesterheim trustee.
The Hanson Family Foundation has given generously over many years to Vesterheim, funding issues of “Vesterheim” magazine, exhibitions and classroom spaces, as well as providing ongoing support to the Vesterheim Annual Fund.
The Hanson Vesterheim Commons, which features three levels and 7,600 square-feet, includes entry from Water Street, provides easy access to Heritage Park, and serves as a community gathering space. A multi-use space on the ground floor seats 100 people for lectures, meetings, concerts, receptions and classes. The building also includes a catering kitchen, a gallery; an artifact collection study room, a digital production studio; and an outdoor patio with seating options for events and receptions. The building, was the first in Iowa to be designed by Snøhetta, a renowned international architecture and landscape architecture firm.
“The Hanson Vesterheim Commons is economically significant for the museum, Decorah and Iowa,” Johnson said. “The building project points to current and future audiences and impacts local economic development and tourism through expanded in-person folk art classes, specialized programs, exhibitions and digital outreach across the United States and the world.”
For more information on the Strong Roots | Bold Future campaign and how to become involved, visit vesterheim.org.
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