This gallery honors the artists who have earned Vesterheim Gold Medals in Vesterheim’s National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition.
This exhibition, which began in 1967, celebrates the past, present, and future of folk art by encouraging and inspiring emerging and established folk artists to develop their craft. The exhibition started with a rosemaling category. Weaving and woodworking were added in 1982 and knifemaking in 1994. Metalworking is the newest category, added in 2018.
Experts in each field knifemaking, metalworking, rosemaling, weaving, and woodworking offer feedback to artists on their work and award ribbons to the very best pieces in the exhibition. As artists win ribbons, they also accumulate points. Points are associated with each ribbon color: Blue, 3 points; Red, 2 points, White, 1 point. When artists accumulate eight points over successive exhibitions, they are awarded a Vesterheim Gold Medal.
