Nordic Cool 2013

From February 19 to March 17, 2013, the Kennedy Center presents Nordic Cool 2013, a month-long international festival of theater, dance, music, visual arts, literature, design, cuisine, and film to highlight the diverse cultures of the Nordic countries. Read more

The three sisters perform a program of joik, a traditional form of song of the Sami people (the indigenous people of the northern Nordic region) and is one of the oldest forms of musical expression in existence. Part of Nordic Cool 2013. Read more

Praised for his technical and emotional musicality, award-winning Norwegian violinist/fiddler and composer Gjermund Larsen performs with Andreas Utnem (organ & piano) and Sondre Meisfjord (double bass). Read more

One of Norway's most innovative and distinctive percussionists, Terje Isungset collects material from nature and creates new instruments. For Icemusic, he carves instruments out of pure ice, including from the 600-year-old Jostedal glacier. Read more

Norwegian violinists Ragnhild & Eldbjørg Hemsing have been playing together since the ages of seven and five, when they first played for the Norwegian Royal Family at the National Theatre in Oslo. Read more

Tord Gustavsen Ensemble, led by the pianist, has been a solid fixture on the Norwegian jazz scene for many years. The Guardian describes his sound as "meditative but subtly gospel-tinged." Read more

The highly respected Norwegian folk singer-songwriter was voted 2006 “Traditional Musician of the Year” in Norway. Read more

Join us for an evening of cultural exploration based in our universal enjoyment of food that includes a buffet dinner specially prepared by Chef Simon Idsø at the home of His Excellency Wegger Chr. Strommen, the Ambassador of Norway. Read more

The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance, Carte Blanche brings Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar's Corps de Walk, a work about a static condition of unique moments and tiny, subtle changes in body posture. Read more

Invented in Sweden, plywood is one of the oldest mass-produced products in the world. This installation, created by famed Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, features large-scale plywood sculptures. Read more

Learn about the Nobel Prize, its founder, the Laureates, and their endeavors. Read more

As an investigation into a woman's death proceeds, details of an emotionally searing triangle involving two brothers and the woman begin to unfold, stretching across decades. An unsettling yet moving story of love, lust, jealousy, and fear. Read more

In this frequently hilarious, engaging, and brutally honest portrait of a 35-year old man with a definite case of arrested development, Henryk has a new apartment, a challenging job, and a beautiful pregnant wife, which is where the trouble starts. Read more

his conversation will touch on issues such as trends and influences in contemporary Nordic performance; the relative importance of tradition and experimentation in the work; the age factor of audiences, and more. Read more

Does the design of physical theater spaces and venues affect the experiential aspects of performing arts? Are there other, perhaps surprising, ways of relating architecture and theater? This panel discusses perspectives from both sides of the curtain. Read more

Join us for a lively conversation with award-winning translators Steven T. Murray and Tiina Nunnally, who have plenty of stories to tell about the joys and controversies they have encountered in nearly three decades of translating Scandinavian fiction. Read more

Is Nordic noir a voice of its own? This discussion features some of the region's foremost crime novelists offering their own takes on the success of the genre and its unique characteristics. Read more

The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries that meets a "high literary and artistic standard." This panel features some recent winners discussing their works. Read more

In this interactive session, Norwegian solar physicist Pål Brekke utilizes photos and video footage from NASA satellites to discuss the visual phenomenon known as the Northern Lights. Read more

Herewith, a collection of links to media coverage of the Kennedy Center's Nordic Cool 2013 festival. Read more

Norway, together with the other Nordic countries, took to one of the U.S.’s biggest stages for four weeks in February and March, when The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. hosted the Nordic Cool 2013 festival. Over the course of those four weeks, more than 750 Nordic artists performed or exhibited their work at the festival. The festival saw many sold out performances a... Read more

The Kennedy Center provided a preview day for its Nordic Cool exhibitions. We were there to take photos. Check out our Flickr account for a sneak preview! Read more

MHz Networks in the Washington, D.C. area will be airing Nordic television content daily, concurrent with the Kennedy Center's Nordic Cool festival. Read more

Following is a message from The Kennedy Center. Volunteers are needed for the Nordic Cool festival, Feb. 19-Mar. 17, 2013. Read more

This multimedia two-act play that revolves around the intertwined fates of three characters--a conceptual artist grieving over her son's death, a boy-prostitute searching for the truth about his past, and a terminally ill businessman longing for love. Read more

Norway's National Theatre performs Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, a powerful and emotionally potent portrayal of a woman's alienation from and suffocation by the bourgeois society of which she has become a part. Read more