As residents, Alaska Native artists create artwork – traditional and nontraditional – demonstrate their techniques, and discuss their artistic process with visitors at the museum. Artists offer workshops, give artist talks, or lead other outreach or community engagement activities to creatively connect with locals and visitors.
Artists often find inspiration in the museum collection on exhibit in the gallery and in collection storage. While here, some artists augment the knowledge and understanding of museum staff by more closely examining, researching, and discussing the collection. Artists are paid to study the collection and carry out cultural consultations.
There are five artists in residence for the 2025 Alaska Native Artist Residency Program
- Liz Chikayaasix̂ Morrow, Unangax̂ painting and print making
June 17 – July 3 - Shirley Hootch, Yup’ik carving and jewelry making
July 15 – Aug 3 - Sydney Akagi, Lingít Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving
Aug 18 – Aug 29 - Danielle Larsen, Koyukon Athabascan & Unangax̂, painting and seal gut jewelry making
Sept 2 – Sept 20 - Lillian Jackson, Tlingit & Koyukon Athabascan beading
Sept 24 – Oct 11
Visit our youtube for access to our free public programs archive given by these artists during their residencies. The 2025 Alaska Native Artist Residency Program is made possible with support from Alaska Airlines, Alaska Arts Southeast, Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation and private donors.
While in residence, artists create art in an open studio-like format in the museum gallery and engage with the community through:
- Cultural Consultations
- Artist Talks
- Teaching a Workshop
Online Archive of Artist Talks
Please visit the Friends of SJM YouTube channel youtube.com/@friendsofSJM to view past programs. There are playlists organized by year. Past Share Your Culture Share Your Research speaker series events are also part of the online archive.
History of the Alaska Native Artist Residency Program
In 1988, Janice Criswell, a Tlingit basket weaver, volunteered her time to share her culture with Sheldon Jackson Museum’s summer visitors and the Native Artist Residency Program was born.
Native Alaskans from all over the state have participated in the program representing the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Unangax, Alutiiq, Yup’ik, Inupiat, Cup’ik, and Athabascan cultures.
The museum has previously partnered with the Sitka Sound Science Center and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp to co-host artists to teach classes to youth and adults.
The thirty-seven-year-old residency program has grown and expanded since its inception, largely due to financial and in-kind support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Arts Southeast Inc., the Friends of SJM, other local arts organizations, volunteers, and the general public.
Artists-in-residence are selected on a competitive basis in the spring. For an application or answers to questions about the program, contact the Sheldon Jackson Museum Curator by calling 907-747-8981 or emailing Jacqueline.Fernandez-Hamberg@alaska.gov.
The Alaska Native Artist Residency Program is underwritten by the Friends of SJM and is made possible with support from the Friends, the National Endowment for the Arts, Alaska Airlines, and private donors. Individuals interested in donating to the residency program or sponsoring housing for the program should contact the Friends by calling 907-747-6233, emailing friendsofsjm@gmail.com, or visiting the donation page.