Scan Design Foundation

10/09/2026

Reserve your spot to hear Rufus Gifford at Nordic Northwest in Portland this Monday! More information below.

Join Nordic Northwest, and the Scan Design Foundation for a evening fireside chat with former ambassador Rufus Gifford!

10/09/2026

💧 Living with Water: Designing Blue-Green Cities

How can cities transform stormwater management into an opportunity to create more sustainable, resilient, and livable communities?

Join Scan Design Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor Rasmus Astrup, Partner and Design Principal at SLA in Copenhagen, and Nancy Rottle, Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington College of Built Environments, for an evening exploring sustainable stormwater solutions. Nancy Rottle recently published a book, The Art of Sustainable Stormwater: Designing Blue-Green Cities.

Drawing on Danish landscape architecture and innovative urban design, the lecture will explore how stormwater infrastructure can become an integral part of public spaces, supporting biodiversity, climate adaptation, urban ecology, and everyday life.

📅 Friday, October 16, at 6:00 p.m.
📍 Architecture Hall, University of Washington
🥂 Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a book signing.

Scan Design Foundation has supported the UWCBE Master Studios for more than a decade - facilitating the sharing of ideas in built environments over the Atlantic.

10/06/2026

🌎❄️ This year’s Nordic Innovation Summit (NIS): Arctic 360 brings together voices from the Nordic countries, the U.S., and across the Arctic to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the region. The Summit starts in one week (October 13-14)!

From climate change and sustainability to geopolitics, technology, communities, and the future of the Arctic, NIS offers an important opportunity to learn from those who live, work, and innovate in this rapidly changing part of the world.

As a longtime supporter of the National Nordic Museum, Scan Design Foundation is proud to support this conversation and the exchange of Nordic and Pacific Northwest perspectives.

🎟️ A special offer for our network: We have discounted tickets (50% off!) available for this event. Send us a message and we’ll share the discount code with you!

Join us for an important conversation about the changing Arctic — and the future we share:
https://nordicmuseum.org/events/innovation

Join thought leaders at the Nordic Innovation Summit, October 13-14, 2026, at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle. Discover insights on sustainability, tech, and economic exchange from innovators ac...

10/01/2026

At 50, Danish filmmaker Louise Unmack Kjeldsen thought she was entering her most liberating chapter of life—until insomnia, brain fog, and anxiety set in. Her search for answers sparked Menopause Mystery, a globe-spanning documentary challenging long-held taboos around women’s health. 🧠✨

The film is part of at Pickford Film Center and sponsored by Scan Design Foundation.

This eye-opening and empowering film asks urgent questions about medicine, aging, and gender equality in healthcare.

Join one of the upcoming screenings:
📍 Pickford Film Center, Bellingham, WA
🗓️ Showtimes:
• Oct 6 | 5:25 PM
• Oct 19 | 7:45 PM

🔗 https://www.pickfordfilmcenter.org/movie/menopause-mystery/

DOCTOBER OFFICIAL SELECTION PRESENTED BY SCANDESIGN FOUNDATION + SPECTRUM HEALTHPOST-FILM DISCUSSION on 10/6 + 10/19 WITH SPECTRUM HEALTH — Andrea Phillisp, (ARNP, CNM), and Kara Leads (LMHC).At fifty, filmmaker Louise Unmack Kjeldsen thought she was entering one of the most liberating chapte...

09/30/2026

🌎🇩🇰 Greenland at a Crossroads: A Conversation with Rufus Gifford

Join Nordic Northwest on October 12 at Nordia House in Portland for this timely conversation with Rufus Gifford, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, about Greenland, the Arctic, and the enduring U.S.-Danish relationship.

Against the backdrop of renewed attention on U.S.-Denmark relations and Arctic security, Gifford will share perspectives from his years in diplomacy and his work strengthening connections between the United States and Denmark—including collaboration on climate change, clean energy, and international cooperation.

Register for this event with Nordic Northwest: https://www.nordicnorthwest.org/

If you are in Seattle, Gifford will be making his way North and speaking in Downtown Seattle on October 14. More information on this event with the World Affairs Council can be found here: https://www.world-affairs.org/

09/29/2026

🇩🇰 🇬🇱 🇺🇸 We are honored to be sponsoring a Northwest Tour in October featuring Rufus Gifford, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. Ambassador Gifford was a senior aide to Presidents Obama, Biden and Vice President Harris, and is currently a civic leader, public speaker and advocate for Democratic causes.

Join one of the upcoming events to hear his insider's perspective on the important relationship between the US & Denmark and the role of diplomacy in a changing world. The recent signing of the trilateral agreement between the US, Denmark and Greenland will be in focus.

👉 October 12th at Nordic Northwest in Portland, OR (Event info here: www.nordicnorthwest.org/event-details/in-conversation-with-rufus-gifford)

👉 October 13th at the Nordic Innovation Summit at National Nordic Museum (Event info here: https://nordicmuseum.org/events/innovation)

👉October 14th in Downtown Seattle with World Affairs Council - Seattle and Northwest Danish Association (Event info here: www.world-affairs.org/event/u-s-denmark-relations-people-partnerships-and-the-future-of-the-transatlantic-alliance/)

Do you ever catch yourself wondering, what in the world is going on with the US and Denmark?? Now’s your chance to get clarity on the never-ending headlines from this insider’s perspective! Join World Affairs Council and Scan Design Foundation on 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝟱:𝟯𝟬𝗽𝗺 for a conversation with Rufus Gifford, 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸.
In conversation with World Affairs Council President and CEO Jacqueline Miller, Ambassador Gifford will provide an insider's perspective on US-Denmark relations and the role of diplomacy in a changing world. Join them to explore the countries’ enduring ties, Denmark's strategic importance to US interests, and the future of the alliance.
Register now to connect with fellow global affairs enthusiasts at this conversational event and w**e reception: https://www.world-affairs.org/event/u-s-denmark-relations-people-partnerships-and-the-future-of-the-transatlantic-alliance/U.S.–Denmark

09/29/2026

We are offering two pairs of tickets to the upcoming Artist Talk with Thomas Dambo in Seattle 🎟 🎟 🌟 🎟 🎟

In 2023, Thomas Dambo was commissioned by Scan Design Foundation to create a series of 6 large-scale sculptures made from recycled wood for the exhibition, NW Trolls: Way of The Bird King (www.nwtrolls.org).

We are delighted to welcome Thomas back to the Northwest! In an upcoming artist talk at the National Nordic Museum, Thomas will share whimsical insight into his life, career, and rise to become the world’s best known recycle art activist.

⏰ October 20th, 2026 at 6:30pm - 7:30pm

The event has been sold out; more information about the event and how to join the waitlist can be found here: www.nordicmuseum.org/events/thomas-dambo-artist-talk

TICKET GIVEAWAY:
We are offering two pairs of tickets for this event. Two names will be drawn next week. We will be accepting sign-ups to enter the giveaway until 11:59 am PT on October 5th, 2026. Winners will be notified by October 7th, 2026.

Complete this form to enter the ticket giveaway
https://forms.gle/Sihn77JecaPCxwtJ9

Event date: October 20th, 2026 at 6:30pm - 7:30pm Location: National Nordic Museum, Seattle, WA National Nordic Museum Event page: https://nordicmuseum.org/events/thomas-dambo-artist-talk More about the Northwest Trolls here: www.nwtrolls.org Scan Design Foundation is offering two pairs of tickets t...

09/22/2026

Today, President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen took part in a signing ceremony at the United Nations for an agreement that will bolster the U.S. military presence in Greenland while keeping the Arctic territory under Danish sovereignty.

Watch the signing here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/gJy9_hoImBg?si=OW3PQ-nGU_yGgurh

Follow along on all the developments around Greenland over the course of 2026 on our site: https://greenlandfacts.org/

Watch live as President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette F...

09/22/2026

Join in on this important conversation this Thursday at the National Nordic Museum!

Link to register below.

Join one of the Nordic's sharpest and most widely read young voices out for a talk on the true cost of care work.

09/21/2026

In recent developments surrounding a proposed U.S.–Greenland security agreement, Denmark and Greenland continue to emphasize that strengthening Arctic security must go hand in hand with respecting territorial sovereignty and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.

The U.S., Denmark and Greenland have informed the global public that they reached a deal to allow the US to develop a significant military presence on Greenland, while prohibiting US adversaries from building their ⁠own bases on the island.

The deal is expected to be signed during the UN General Assembly this week.

🔗 Read more in this article in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/19/denmark-greenland-us-military-agreement-territorial-sovereignty

Statement sought to clarify Trump’s announcement that US will have ‘permanent control’ over Greenland’s security