Two exhibitions opening at the Nordic Heritage Museum

Two exhibitions are opening this week at the Nordic Heritage Museum (3014 NW 67th St), Victor Borge: A Smile is the Shortest Distance and August Werner: Uncommon Traditionalist.

August Werner (1893-1980), a Norwegian immigrant, spent decades in Seattle as a music professor at the University of Washington. His art was more than just in music, he was also a writer, painter, poet, and sculptor. One of his more visible pieces is right here in Ballard – the Leif Erikson statue overlooking Shilshole Bay Marina.

Victor Borge (1909-2000), a Danish immigrant who was Jewish, escaped on the last boat from Finland for the United States during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II. He was a comic and musician both in Europe and America. According to the museum, the exhibition Victor Borge: A Smile is the Shortest Distance “explores and illuminates the life and achievements of Victor Borge through photographs, film clips, recordings, and memorabilia from Borge’s personal archives. Affectionately known as ‘The Great Dane,’ Borge was a musician, humorist, and humanitarian. In the nearly 60 years that he lived in the United States, Borge performed on the radio, in films, on television, in opera houses, in sports arenas, and at the White House. Distinctively Danish, his comedy encouraged audience interaction and found humor in the mundane.”

Both exhibitions open on Friday and run through February 6, 2011. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m. General admission is $6, seniors and college students are $5 and children older than 5 years are $4.