Rising Stars: Meet Clare Zuraw of Finnish American Folk School

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Clare Zuraw.

Hi Clare, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
The Finnish American Folk School was founded in 2017 as a program of the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan, to promote Finnish folk arts and traditional skills and ensure they thrive for future generations.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been a smooth road! Just a couple of years into the Finnish American Folk School’s life, the COVID-19 pandemic began, seriously impacting our public programming for over a year. Then, just as we were beginning to rebuild our audience and programming, our umbrella institution, Finlandia University, announced it would be shutting down in 2023, and it looked like the Folk School would close as well.

Thankfully, the non-profit Finlandia Foundational National stepped in and saved the Finnish American Folk School and the other cultural programs of the Finnish American Heritage Center, including the Finnish American Historical Archive, Finlandia Art Gallery, North Wind Books, and the Finnish American Newspaper. We continue to navigate the details of the transition but are so grateful to have the support of the Finlandia Foundation to continue our work in the community.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We specialize in educational programming that connects community members of all backgrounds to traditional arts and skills. Our work is rooted in Finnish American culture while exploring connections to diverse traditions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We’re especially known for our fiber arts programming, with a top-notch textile studio and many workshops, including weaving, spinning, dyeing, knitting, and more.

We also offer other programming like music, dance, instrument building, wood carving, ceramics, and the Finnish language. While most of our programming happens here in Hancock, where our instructors and students can be hands-on, we offer some online programming to reach national and international audiences interested in what we do.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
A Finnish word – sisu – is relevant to our work at the Finnish American Folk School these last few years. The word gets translated differently in English, including resilience, bravery, tenacity, and grit.

Sisu and a good bit of luck have gotten us through the significant challenges of the last four years. Hopefully, other qualities like creativity and openness will also help us move forward and grow in the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fahc.finlandiafoundation.org/finnish-american-folk-school/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finnishamericanfolkschool/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Finnish-American-Heritage-Center/100063572859104/