During the 20th century, African Americans visited, performed, studied, and lived in the Nordic countries for a variety of reasons: a sense of adventure, love, seeking educational and occupational opportunities, freedom to explore their sexuality, freedom from Jim Crow segregation back home, among many other reasons. Curated by Dr. Ethelene Whitmire (Professor, University of Wisconsin—Madison) with Leslie Anne Anderson (Chief Curator, National Nordic Museum), “Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century” illuminates the untold story of African American visual and performing artists, such as Doug Crutchfield, Herb Gentry, Dexter Gordon, William Henry Johnson, Howard Smith, and Walter Williams, who sought new possibilities, inspiration, and environments in the Nordic countries as an alternative to Paris. This much-anticipated exhibition is the first comprehensive examination of this topic. “Nordic Utopia?” opens to the public on Saturday, March 23 at the National Nordic Museum...