Finlandia Foundation National is now accepting applications for its 2026 Performer and Lecturer of the Year programs, offering artists, academics, and cultural practitioners the chance to tour the U.S. and share Finnish and Finnish-American stories. Each honoree receives travel and performance support to appear at events nationwide, continuing a legacy that has featured violinists like Charlotte Loukola, stand-up comedian Miska Kajanus, and sauna culture advocate Eero Kilpi. Applications are open until October 1, 2025.

The Foundations for Estonian Arts and Letters has opened its 2025 Young Artist Stipend: a one-time $2,000 grant for U.S.–based creatives of Estonian heritage (ages 18–35) working in music, performance, folk culture, literature, or visual/applied arts. Applications are due September 1, 2025.

When you think of a solo instrument in classical music, the bassoon might not be the first to come to mind. But Estonian-born bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann has spent his career turning this unsung instrument into a show-stopper. With charismatic performances that The New York Times has praised as “dynamic… amazing… gripping…,”

From corporate ambition to global impact, the founder of Brand of a Leader never planned to become an entrepreneur—until a conversation during early motherhood changed everything. What began as a quest for flexibility evolved into a thriving personal branding agency serving CEOs and founders across 12 countries. In this interview, she shares how she scaled organically without a sales team, embraced AI without sacrificing authenticity, and built a business that aligns with both her professional genius and personal values. Her story offers a fresh perspective on leadership, balance, and building with intention in the modern entrepreneurial landscape.

Johanna Telander’s second poetry collection, The Resilient Flutter of Butterflies, explores the strength found in vulnerability and the quiet power of kindness. The Finnish-American poet and multidisciplinary artist—also known for her musical compositions—invites readers into a world where softness becomes a form of resilience. With intimate honesty, Telander’s verses show that even the most fragile wings can carry us through adversity, ultimately illuminating hope and healing.

New York City has always been a magnet for musicians chasing the next great performance—but in the 21st century, an unusually bright constellation of performers and conductors hails from the Nordic North. Drawn from Norway’s fjords, Sweden’s archipelagos, Denmark’s design-forward cities, Finland’s forests of sound, and Iceland’s volcanic imagination, these artists have made the city’s stages their second home. They lead the New York Philharmonic, ignite the Metropolitan Opera, pack Carnegie and Lincoln Center, and teach at Juilliard, infusing the musical life of the five boroughs with crisp Nordic clarity and boundary-pushing innovation. Their stories reveal how a global capital and a cluster of small northern nations have forged a creative partnership that is reshaping classical music for a new era.

Cathy Lawrence vividly remembers the unlikely spark that led her down a new creative path. It happened on a Match.com date. As a longtime cantor and voice teacher on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Lawrence had spent her career guiding others in song and spirit. Writing a musical was never on her agenda—until that fateful evening.

The landscapes of the Nordic and Baltic regions are undergoing dramatic transformations under the pressure of climate change. In Iceland, for example, volcanic activity long shaped a restless terrain – but now global warming is accelerating changes in even more profound ways. “Nature’s creativity has meant that the Icelandic language must also be nimble,” writes Andri Snær Magnason, an Icelandic author, in a recent New York Times guest essay about his homeland.

Estonia’s Foreign Ministry has announced that the European Union is already working on a new (19th) package of sanctions against Russia, underscoring the bloc’s determination to keep increasing pressure over the war in Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stressed that the EU will not stop at “halfway measures” – every new sanctions round reinforces the message that “Ukraine is not alone, and Russia will not go unpunished.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will launch negotiations on a security and defence partnership with Iceland, marking a significant deepening of ties between the Nordic nation and the European Union. Standing alongside Iceland’s new Prime Minister, Kristrún Frostadóttir, at a press conference in Keflavík, von der Leyen outlined plans for closer cooperation on emerging security challenges. “We will cooperate more closely on hybrid threat response, civil protection and secure communications,” she said, emphasizing joint efforts against cyber and other non-traditional threats.

The Nordic region is witnessing a remarkable boom in artificial intelligence startups, with Sweden at the forefront. Stockholm-based Lovable has just become Sweden’s latest tech unicorn, highlighting a wave of innovative AI companies emerging across Sweden and its Nordic neighbors.

At the turn of the 20th century, Riga – now Latvia’s capital – was booming. Railway lines, shipyards and factories had made it one of the Russian Empire’s richest cities, with its population surging by 88% between 1897 and 1913 (to about 530,000). Much of Latvia in this era was an industrial heartland serving the vast empire, and Riga’s harbor and machine works funneled enormous wealth into the city. This prosperity spawned a building boom: from 1910–1913 some 300–500 new buildings per year rose in Riga, mostly in the then-fashionable Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) style.

Estonia’s journey to reclaim independence in 1991 – after half a century under Soviet rule – is often remembered for the courage and unity of the Estonian people. Mass singing demonstrations, human chains across the Baltics, and shrewd political moves defined this “Singing Revolution.” Less known, however, is the covert but crucial support from neighboring Finland. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Finland acted as a supportive “big brother,” quietly funneling financial aid, training, and resources to help Estonia rebuild its state – all while maintaining a delicate balance with the Soviet Union.

Every five years, Estonia’s Laulupidu and Tantsupidu turn Tallinn into a sea of song and swirling folk costumes—but the chorus echoing across the city is only part of a larger Baltic story. From 19th‑century national awakenings through the peaceful “Singing Revolution” that toppled Soviet rule, mass choral and dance festivals in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have kept language, identity, and freedom alive. This richly reported feature dives into that shared heritage, showing how three small nations still unite hundreds of thousands of voices—and remind the world that a people who can sing together can also change their destiny.

Nordic and Baltic leaders have become among the most vocal and active supporters of Ukraine’s fight against Russia. In a February 2025 joint statement, the eight countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland plus Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) vowed to “further increase” support for Ukraine, emphasizing that “Ukraine must be able to prevail against Russia’s war of aggression, to ensure a just and lasting peace”.