In 2005, a simple newspaper report about a place called Stavanger, Illinois caught my attention. The name was so familiar yet so unexpected, a small American town sharing its name with my hometown of Stavanger, Norway.

Intrigued, I began imagining a visual exploration of this place — capturing its essence through my lens. However, it took a full decade before I found myself driving through this small community for the first time. What I found was a tiny cluster of houses nestled amid vast fields of corn and soybeans, much smaller than I had imagined.

That first visit marked the beginning of a journey that would take me back and forth across the Atlantic, driven by a need to uncover and document what remained of Norwegian culture in America. I met and photographed half of the town's residents, attended church services, and wandered through the landscape mile after mile, capturing its quiet beauty and its hidden stories.

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But my work didn't stop there. I realized that focusing solely on this tiny outpost might be too narrow, so I expanded my scope to include the wider area, tracing the fading Norwegian roots that had taken hold here almost 200 years ago. The journey of the “Sloopers,” the first organized group of Norwegian immigrants to the U.S., led them to this very region in 1834. Families like Leland, Hersdal, Rossedal, Madland, and Helland stayed to build their American future. I became fascinated with how their descendants had preserved elements of Norwegian culture, language, and tradition across the generations.

A celebration of heritage

The title, "A Dying Norway - In a Living America?" was chosen with careful thought, not only to provoke reflection but to highlight the poignant reality that I have observed. The question mark at the end is deliberate — it suggests both uncertainty and a conversation. The Norwegian language and culture are no longer as prominent in these communities as they once were. In the early 20th century, there were over a million Americans who identified as fully Norwegian, with more than 3,000 congregations conducting services exclusively in Norwegian, and countless Norwegian-language newspapers. Today, just one congregation remains with services in Norwegian, and only a single newspaper survives, partially in Norwegian.

This change is, of course, a natural progression. As I often say, with each passing generation, a little piece of the Norwegian identity fades away. Yet, there are still traces of this heritage — in the foods prepared, the songs sung, and the traditions that continue, even in adapted forms.

Lefse, kringler, and komler are still beloved foods at community gatherings. The children at the church’s Christmas celebration sing "Jeg er så glad hver julekveld" in a mix of Norwegian and English. These fragments, though faint, still echo across time and space, a testament to the resilience of cultural memory.

Bringing the story home

In 2024, I completed the last photograph for this project, marking the end of an 18-year journey of exploration and discovery. But the story is far from over. The exhibitions in the USA and Norway are the next chapters.

In 2025, Stavanger, Norway, will celebrate its 900th anniversary and mark 200 years since the organized emigration to the USA began. In July, exactly 200 years after the sloop *Restauration* set sail from Stavanger to New York, my exhibition will open in Byparken, in the heart of Stavanger. As part of the official program for Stavanger 2025, this exhibition will serve as both a tribute and a bridge, connecting past and present, Norway and America.

This project is my life’s work, a tribute to those who have tried — and are still trying — to preserve the Norwegian spirit for as long as possible. It is a story of identity, loss, adaptation, and celebration, unfolding across two continents and nearly two centuries. I invite you to join me in exploring these threads that bind us across oceans and time.

Article in Norwegian (Stavanger Aftenblad): Stavanger - i USA

About me

Photographer, photojournalist, visual storyteller — a beloved child has many names.

This project is my life's work, and in 2024, it was completed with the final photograph. Now, exhibitions remain in the USA and Norway. In 2025, Stavanger will celebrate its 900th anniversary and the 200th anniversary of the start of organized emigration to the USA. That year, the sloop *Restauration* left Stavanger and sailed to New York.

In July 2025, 200 years later, the exhibition will open in Byparken, in the heart of Stavanger. The exhibition is part of the official program for Stavanger 2025.