PHIL FAGERHOLM,

Featured Speaker for The Emigrants’ Day in Finström

and Featured Artist at the Åland Museum.

 

The Emigrants’ Day 2009

“On September 6, 2009 I was privileged to be the Featured Speaker for The Emigrants’ Day gathering, annually arranged by the Åland Islands Emigrant Institute, now held in Finström in the Åland Islands. The event took place at the Godby hotell owned by my cousin Kjell Fagerholm whom I met for the first time the same day. In fact, this day was more like a family reunion where I met for the first time also Kjell's brother Roger Fagerholm, Lars Mörn and John Malmquist as well as Maj-Len Lindholm and Ingmar Nyholm, cousins which I had met only shortly before.

I spoke about my roots in Åland, my growing up on Lopez Island in Washington state and about Art/Not Terminal Gallery and my art work while Eva Meyer, Director of the Åland Emigrant Institute, showed slides. My words were translated into Swedish by Margareta Stenius who also asked me questions and took questions from the audience as well.

 

 

“Åland → America footprints:

Warner Sallman ♦ Phil Fagerholm ♦ Haddon Sundblom

– peddling messages –”

 

I was invited to Åland by the Åland Islands Emigrant Institute and the Åland Museum to be part of the exhibit "Åland → America footprints: Warner Sall­man ♦ Phil Fagerholm ♦ Haddon Sundblom – peddling messages –" which was created solely by Maria Jarlsdotter Enkell to showcase three descendants of Åland emigrants: Warner Sallman, Haddon Sundblom and myself. (see  http://www.museum.ax/museum/galleri/2009/Footprints/indexfootprints.html )

The Opening was September 22. The exhibit was open to the public September 23 – October 18. It was well received and there were at least four newspaper articles printed with color photos. Being sandwiched between two giants like Sallman and Sundblom was both exciting and humbling. Each artist had his own space which could still be seen from the others. Sund­blom on the right and Sallman on the left with my work in between. The show was superbly designed and my work was hung in such a way that it looked fresh and new even to me. The evening before the Opening there was a garden party with the Mayor of Mariehamn and other dignitaries and the Opening was attended by the Swedish Consul and the U.S. Ambassador to Finland.

After the Opening there were two days spent touring the Islands including visits to my grandmother's home in Geta and the Sundblom and the Sallman homes in Föglö. Events ended with a panel of experts from America who discussed the cultural significance of the exhibit. The panel included David Morgan, Art Historian, Professor, Duke University; Reverend Michael Meier, Director Emeritus for Leadership Development, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; David Jansson, Cultural Geographer, Ph.D., Researcher, Uppsala University, Sweden; Arlie Hochschild, Sociologist, Professor, University of California at Berkeley and Eric Nelson, Executive Director, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WA. The panel discussion was moderated by Adam Hochschild, Author and Journalist, Professor, University of California, Berkeley.

 

All together, I spent 5 weeks in the land of my ancestors. The Åland Islands are the most beautiful place I have ever been, green, clean (not a trace of litter) and I never heard a fowl word on the street the whole time I was there. The Islands are just a huge block of red granit with very little top soil, but lush all the same. The hospitality of the people of Åland could hardly be matched anywhere. I have not been treated so well in my life.”

 

 

This report was published in the Swedish Finn Historical Society’s “The Quarterly”, Vol. 18, No. 2, Winter 2010.