Norwegian photojournalist Katinka Hustad is sampling some of the “brun ost” – brown cheese — she and her colleagues will be offering Cook County residents in exchange for reflections on what it means to be Norwegian-American.
“Brown cheese for stories!” That’s what Norwegian photojournalists Kristian Bålsrød, Anton Ligaarden, and Katinka Hustad will be offering to Cook County residents of Norwegian heritage— or locals with good Sven & Ole jokes.
The three University of Oslo students arrived in Cook County on June 12 for a four-week stay during which they will start filming a documentary intended to find out how much Norwegian culture remains alive in descendants of the 50 percent of the Norwegian population that emigrated to the United States several generations ago. Indeed, the population of Norwegian- Americans—close to five million—is about as large as the current population of Norway. They also hope to get a sense for whether Norwegian heritage will still mean something to Norwegian-Americans 50 years from now.
“Norwegians have no idea how they’ve gone out and made a mark on the world,” said Bålsrød, who with his colleagues stopped by the Cook County News- Herald office seeking help in finding Norwegian- Americans for their project. They are hoping to interview people of all ages.
These three Norwegian photojournalists are looking for people along the North Shore who are Norwegian-American or have been influenced by Norwegian culture. They are planning an event in Cook County that will draw people they can interview for a documentary they are creating. To lure them, they will be serving Norwegian brown cheese – “that in exchange for some good Norwegian stories of the area and possibly some good Sven & Ole jokes,” said Kristian Bålsrød. (L-R) Katinka Hustad, Anton Ligaarden, and Bålsrød.
“We really want to meet up with ‘characters’ who really show us what they are,” said Ligaarden. They are also interested in meeting people who do traditional Norwegian things such as cross-country ski or have learned to speak Norwegian even if they don’t have Norwegian ancestry.
How will they know which traits can be attributed to Norwegian heritage? “That’s actually what we’re trying to find in some way,” said Bålsrød. “We’re trying to find out what we have in common – what is left—things that have not been lost in meeting other countries.”
Bålsrød, Ligaarden, and Hustad started the project three years ago. The final product will be a new form of documentary Bålsrød calls an “interactive web documentary.” Offered on the Internet, it will include educational links and opportunities for people to leave comments and get in touch with each other. They also hope to use the project to teach young Norwegians about their own emigration history.
The researchers plan to return for two weeks in December and then again next spring. They will be studying the entire North Shore, but regarding how they chose to stay in Cook County, Bålsrød said it’s a secret that will be revealed to the community sometime in the next year. He promised to give the News- Herald the scoop when that time comes. He did say that the North Shore is known in their country as the Norwegian Riviera.
The photojournalists have funded this phase of their project on their own. Their first order of business is to create a pilot they can use in seeking grant funding for the next phases of the project. Toward that end, they are organizing an event in which they hope to draw potential interviewees, luring them with “brun ost” – Norwegian brown cheese – with bread and butter. “That in exchange for some good Norwegian stories of the area and possibly some good Sven & Ole jokes,” said Bålsrød. He said people better come quickly, though, before Hustad eats all their cheese!
As of press time, the brown cheese event had not been scheduled, but at Bålsrød’s request, this writer agreed to be a contact person for people interested in being part of this project. The News-Herald’s phone number is (218)387-9100. Bålsrød can also be reached via email at kristian.bålsrød@gmail.com.
Leave a Reply