OCTOBER EXHIBITS & EVENTS
 Visceral closing weekend events
Friday, October 6
First Friday–free admission 4:30-7 pm
Co-curators Sonya Kelliher-Combs and Ellen Carrlee in the galleries Musician Melanie Brown performing in the atrium 5 pm
Inuvialuk artist Maureen Gruben lecture 6:30 pm
Saturday, October 7
Youth Activity: Puviaq (bird crop) Ornament Workshop with Maureen Gruben In the classroom noon–2:00 pm
Monday, October 9
Indigenous Peoples’ Day & last day to see Visceral
Free admission 10:00 am–1:00 pm
October 5 First Friday at the Alaska State Museum
Free admission 4:30-7 pm
Melanie Brown performance, 5 pm, atrium
Talk with Artist Maureen Gruben, 6:30 pm, lecture hall
 Left: Melanie Brown, center: Maureen Gruben, right: Sonya Kelliher-Combs
About Musician Melanie Brown
Melanie Brown is a community organizer for SalmonState whose work is focused by salmon. She was born on Lingít Aaní, but her heritage is tied to the Yup'ik and Unangan people of Bristol Bay through her mother and Inupiaq people of Norton Sound by her father. Melanie is grateful for opportunities to share energy out to the world through song. She is also part of a music duo called Sunny Porch.
About Artist Maureen Gruben
Maureen Gruben is an Inuvialuk artist from the village of Tuktoyaktuk on the Beaufort Sea in Northwest Territories, Canada. Her practice encompasses varied media, including video, photography, sculpture, textiles, land installations and large-scale public works. She shares an aesthetic affinity and mutual respect with Visceral exhibit co-curator Sonya Kelliher-Combs, who will be in the galleries with co-curator Ellen Carrlee.
Puviaq (bird crop) ornament workshop for K-12
Youth Activity, Saturday, October 7
Noon–2 pm
Create a bird crop ornament with Inuit contemporary artist Maureen Gruben from Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada.
The puviaq is a beautiful gut ornament made in many communities across the circumpolar north from an inflated bird crop. The translucent globe reveals the foods, such as seeds and berries, that birds like grouse and ptarmigan hold for later use. This hands-on youth workshop will explore this special anatomy, why gut is a special material, and how to inflate a bird crop.
Drop-ins welcome, no registration necessary. Younger students are encouraged to bring an adult.
This program is partially funded by the citizens of the City and Borough of Juneau through sales tax revenues and is sponsored by the Friends of the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum.
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Indigenous Peoples’ Day / last day to see Visceral
Monday, October 9
Free admission 10 am–1 pm
About Visceral
Visceral: Verity, an exhibition of work by contemporary artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs, includes mixed-media installations that combine natural and synthetic materials and evoke questions of authentic experience, truth, abuse, transparency, and credibility. Kelliher-Combs is one of only a few artists working with marine mammal gut.
Visceral: Legacy expands Kelliher-Combs’s solo exhibition themes through a selection of objects from the museum’s permanent collection.
Visceral: Identity features gut parkas from across Alaska to highlight technical and historical aspects of this remarkable material in cross-cultural perspective.
Native artist-in-residence Selina Alexander (Koyukon Athabascan)
Through October 5
Most weekdays, 9 am-noon and 2-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum
The Sheldon Jackson Museum is pleased to announce the third artist-in-residence of 2023, Selina Alexander (Koyukon Athabascan). Alexander is a beader, caribou tufter, sewer specializing in moose and bear bladder bags and moose hide garments. Alexander was raised on the Yukon River between Ruby and Galena until age nine and then lived north of Huslia. She and her family lived a subsistence life of hunting, fishing, trapping and gardening. A subsistence lifestyle and routine practice of crafting and sewing at home led her to become the artist she is today.
For more information on when Alexander is working at the museum or details about the Alaska Native Artist Residency Program, call (907) 747-8981.
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Earring making class with Selina Alexander
October 4-5, 9:30 am-12 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum (in-person only)
Class is free with a $25 materials fee due when you sign up. Plan to attend classes both days. Space is limited. Call the museum at (907) 747-8981 to reserve a spot.
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Native artist-in-residence Golga Paul Oscar (Yup’ik)
October 6-28
most days Wednesday-Friday
10 am-noon and 2-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum
Golga Oscar is a Yup’ik artist from Southwest Alaska. Oscar is a self-taught artist who pursues modern textiles that reflect his cultural identity. He seeks to revitalize his ancestral work with a mix of contemporary materials and design. Oscar has been exploring different mediums ranging from leather/skin sewing to grass weaving and walrus ivory/wood carving. A strong cultural identity is evident in his work. Through his knowledge of traditional art forms and sewing skills, he creates cultural attire that becomes a vital visual element in his photographic imagery. Some of Oscar’s work is in permanent collections at the Anchorage Museum, the Burke Museum in Washington, and the International Folk Art Museum in New Mexico.
Oscar’s images portray portraits of Indigenous people to show the world the importance of Native heritage and the validity of their existence. He is striving towards Indigenizing spaces in this Western environment.
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Indigenous Peoples Day / Golga Oscar talk
October 9, free admission
Talk at 1 pm at Sheldon Jackson Museum
and on Zoom
The museum will be open 10 am-3 pm.
Artist-in-residence Golga Paul Oscar (Yup’ik) will give a talk on “Indigenizing the Mind in Western Spaces.” To reserve a seat, call the museum at (907) 747-8981. The talk will also be streamed live on Zoom.
Zoom information
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86062826605?pwd=VnBESFZYdmdpSHh4RldBTGxHbWJIUT09
Meeting ID: 860 6282 6605
Passcode: GOLGA
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Understanding Yup'ik Art Techniques with Golga Oscar
October 13, 2 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist-in-residence Golga Oscar (Yup’ik) will give a talk about traditional and contemporary forms of Yup’ik art. The presentation will include the use of materials, placement of specific furs and their meaning, and the Yup’ik number and color system. Oscar will discuss the importance of art from an Indigenous perspective, the contemporary art that he creates, and how it speaks to lives today.
To reserve a seat, call the museum at (907) 747-8981. The talk will also be streamed live on Zoom.
Zoom information
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81873554371?pwd=NUs3K2FURlJraTFXSjYzVmFNeWdyZz09
Meeting ID: 818 7355 4371
Passcode: GOLGA
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Yup'ik bag making class
October 25-27, 1-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum
From Golga Oscar: “Students will be creating a unique Yup’ik pouch by using cross or running stitch and Kelugkaq (fancy stitching) techniques. Most materials we will be exploring are calfskin, leather, yarn, and corduroy/cotton fabric. During the time of the project, you will get a chance to learn about Yup’ik culture through the knowledge I have gained throughout my research. As part of that knowledge, we will create an atmosphere of Yup’ik values and how we engage in them.”
Advance registration is necessary. The class is free of charge, but a $25 materials fee applies. To register or learn more, call the museum at (907) 747-8981.
Artifact talk with Golga Oscar (Yup'ik)
October 27, 2 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist-in-residence Golga Oscar will talk on a selection of artifacts from the permanent collection of the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
To reserve a seat, call the museum at (907) 747-8981. The talk will also be streamed live on Zoom.
Zoom information
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87451457206?pwd=STY1dmxOQ0hURmF4dkY3RVdHT2UvQT09
Meeting ID: 874 5145 7206
Passcode: GOLGA
Don't miss! Happening this afternoon and Saturday
Learning Art Forms artist talk online
Con Brio presents violinist Franz Felkl in recital
Saturday, September 30, 2023, 2 pm
APK Atrium
Franz Felkl, violinist and Juneau Symphony concertmaster, will perform a recital of music for violin, accompanied by pianist Sue Kazama. Works include Bach, Beethoven, Pärt, Ravel, de Falla, and more. The one-hour performance is pay-as-you-can. For more information, email Con Brio Chamber Series.
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Apply for the Winter Lecture/Culture Share series
Check out our Artist Opportunites page to learn more. Apply to give a presentation on Zoom! Applications are due October 20.
Fall and winter museum hours
Alaska State Museum
October 8-24
Monday 12-4 pm, Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-4 pm
Beginning October 25
Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum
Beginning September 29
Wednesday-Saturday 10 am-4 pm
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