Me Siirtolaiset | We Immigrants on display March 12-April 16

 America Beckons by Aura Jylhä-Vuorio

Finlandia Art Gallery

 presents

 ME SIIRTOLAISET | WE IMMIGRANTS

 Selections from our art + archival collections

March 12 – April 16, 2026

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 12, 7-8:30pm

 HANCOCK, Mich. – Art, artifacts, and oral histories come together to tell stories of Finnish migration to the United States in the new exhibit “Me Siirtolaiset | We Immigrants,” which opens March 12 at Finlandia Art Gallery.

The artwork in the exhibit is from the gallery’s permanent collection and includes the work of nine Finnish-American and Finnish artists – Ariadna Donner, Gerald Immonen, Aura Jylha-Vuorio, Gladys Koski Holmes, Desiree Koslin, Jan Manniko, Mabel Mustonen, Onni Nordman and Tatu Vuorio. Joanna Chopp, Finnish American Heritage Center archivist, and Phyllis Fredendall, a former director of the Finlandia Art Gallery, will speak at the opening reception and contextualize the exhibit.

“It’s wonderful to tie the archival collection and the art collection together in an exhibition that reflects the ways that art and objects tell a story of our time and the time they were made,” Fredendall said.

 Detail of Infrared View Ryiji #2 by Desiree Koslin

 Highlighted alongside the art and archival artifacts of immigration are excerpts of oral history interviews from the FAHC Oral History Collection. These histories, digitized and available to researchers through the Finnish American Historical Archive website, allow visitors to immerse themselves in the firsthand experiences of immigrants and their descendants. Interim Gallery Director Clare Zuraw sees these stories as an important part of this exhibit.

“Oral histories offer us perspective on the experiences of the past while also helping us to understand the present. Art tells a visual story, while recordings and transcripts of stories preserve the words and experiences of our ancestors,” she said.

 An opening reception will take place at Finlandia Art Gallery in Hancock on Thursday, March 12 from 7-8:30 p.m. with remarks by Phyllis Fredendall and Joanna Chopp beginning at 7:20 p.m. “Me Siirtolaiset | We Immigrants” will be on display through April 16 at the Finnish American Heritage Center, located at 435 Quincy St. in Hancock. The gallery is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. For more information, call 906-370-3722 or visit www.finlandiaartgallery.com.

Finlandia Art Gallery

Finnish American Heritage Center

Finlandia Foundation National

435 Quincy St.

Hancock, MI 49930