The Sheldon Jackson Museum is pleased to announce the selection of the Alaska Native artists for this year’s Alaska Native Artist Residency Program, a program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum. Selected from a pool of applicants, these artists will come to the museum from all over the state to share their art forms and culture over the course of the next five months.
Between May and September, the Sheldon Jackson Museum Alaska Native artists-in-residence will work in the museum gallery, provide free hands-on classes teaching their art forms, give lectures, and provide the museum with material culture consultations on artifacts. Artists-in-residence will connect the general public to their culture(s) through creation of art in an open studio-like format. Visitors will have opportunities to engage with artists and learn about Alaska Native traditions, art forms, artists’ techniques, and sources of inspiration.
Artists-in-residence will receive an artist stipend for their work, lodging, and travel to and from Sitka, and will have a variety of opportunities to study the museum’s permanent collection and educate staff through “cultural consultations.” As part of their residency, artists have scheduled time to study artifacts on exhibit and in collections storage. Through the study of artifacts at the museum, artists have an invaluable opportunity to examine material culture created by their ancestors. The benefits of this study time extend to the museum staff who gain priceless insight into artifacts as the artists share their knowledge and observations. The indispensable information captured in these cultural consultations is recorded in museum records, adding to the knowledge of present-day staff and members of the public and to future generations of museum goers, researchers, artists, and Sheldon Jackson Museum staff.
This summer, the Alaska Native Artist Residency Program will include the following six artists:
Danielle Stickman, Koyukon and Dena’ina Athabascan beader, fish skin sewer, and mixed media artist (May 15-30)
Laine Rinehart, Tlingit ravenstail and Chilkat weaver (June 4-June 20)
Robert Hoffmann, Tlingit carver and painter (June 23-July 10)
Rico Worl, Tlingit and Athabascan computer-aided designer and sculptor (July 11-26)
Neva Mathias, Cup’ik doll, grass basket and dance fan maker (July 28-Aug. 12)
Chloe French, Tlingit textile artist, Chilkat Weaver and beader (Aug. 21-Sept. 5)
Stay tuned for more information on upcoming residency events and dates of classes, artist talks and other programs associated with the Alaska Native Artist Residency Program.