JUNE EVENTS AT THE APK & SJM
Artist-in-Residence Lisa Kamahamak Lynch (Iñupiaq)
Sheldon Jackson Museum
June 11-July 2
The Sheldon Jackson Museum is pleased to announce the arrival of the first artist in the 2024 Alaska Native Artist Residency Program, Lisa Kamahamak Lynch. Lisa is a beader, painter, skin sewer, and ivory carver. During her residency, she will focus on beadwork and painting, teach a beginner’s beading class, and offer three artist talks.
Lynch is a self-described member of the Nome Eskimo Community from Anchorage, Alaska. Her parents are Cheryl and Tim Lynch of Nome and Buffalo, New York. Her maternal grandparents are the late Lawrence and Mary Ann Davis of Deering and Teller, Alaska. Her paternal grandparents are the late Robert and Ellen Lynch of Buffalo. Lynch has spent summers in Nome with her extended family learning about her culture and traditions. She has also spent time in the summer visiting her father’s family in upstate New York and traveling the East Coast. She studied art history and classical studies in Rome for four years, where she learned to appreciate art and the depth of emotion it carries. After that, she studied to become an EMT here in Alaska. She is currently a pre-med student at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Chilkat Dye Research Results
Thursday, June 6, 10 am
APK Lecture Hall
The Chilkat Dye Project has been a collaboration among weavers, chemists, and museum professionals. Dr. Ellen Carrlee, conservator at Alaska State Museums and one of the main collaborators in the research project, will present. This lecture will describe dyes found in historic weavings in the Alaska State Museum and Sheldon Jackson Museum collections, followed by an open discussion of project results, collaborative process, and how the findings could be shared. Open to the public, not recorded.
Friday, June 7, 10 am
APK Lecture Hall
Stormy Hamar and others with the Haida Canoe Revitalization Group, will offer a presentation about their project documenting an ancient canoe on Prince of Wales Island.
The canoe is an unfinished red cedar dugout canoe. Although currently covered in moss and unrecognizable to a layman, it remains a vital historical object. The canoe is providing clues to contemporary carvers, who have no other existing examples of a pre-steamed Haida canoe to study.
Over the past month, a team of expert carvers and culture bearers have been documenting this ancient canoe, using photography, and drone photography to learn more about the site, and taking measurements to make technical drawings and 3D models using photogrammetry.
The project is supported by a grant from the new Maritime Heritage Preservation Program, through the State Historic Preservation Office and the Alaska State Museum.
Beginner’s Beading Class
Thursday, June 13 & 20, 2-3:30 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum
Artist-in-residence Lisa Kamahamak Lynch will teach students ages 10+ how to make either a beaded keychain or a pair of beaded earrings. Lisa will provide material packets the first day of class. The class is free, but a $10 materials fee applies. Students should make a check out to Lisa Lynch at the time of sign up. To register, call (907) 747-8981 or stop by the museum. Space is limited.
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Beadwork: A Quiet Luxury
Friday, June 14, 2 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist-in-residence Lisa Kamahamak Lynch (Inupiaq) will give a talk entitled “Beadwork: A Quiet Luxury.” Lynch hopes to demystify and clear up any misconceptions about how to find and buy indigenous-made artwork, clothing, and jewelry.
Zoom Info
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83384356740?pwd=Mk5EMkZsWjdhMVZDV3l3eWhOVDVDQT09
Meeting ID: 833 8435 6740
Passcode: Lynch
Family Fun Fair
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Friday, June 21, 10:30 am-1:30 pm
APK plaza, weather permitting
Bring the whole family for an afternoon of activities at the APK! No registration required and families may drop in any time.
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History of Reindeer Herding in Alaska
Friday, June 21, 2-3 pm,
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
In this presentation, artist-in-residence Lisa Kamahamak Lynch (Inupiaq) will share how Sheldon Jackson introduced reindeer from traditional Sámi land to Alaska, the connection between Alaska and the Sami people, and how Alaska Natives adapted to reindeer herding.
She will also talk about the rich culture around reindeer herding that sprung up in a relatively short time.
Finally, she will discuss how “Alaska was almost the 'cattle king' of the United States until the government began to place heavy roadblocks for indigenous people to sell the reindeer meat commercially and how this impacted the entire state.”
Zoom Info
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81016158497?pwd=NURhSjRCWGJ4YTR0MGdIdU1WL092Zz09
Meeting ID: 810 1615 8497
Passcode: reindeer
Artist Talk on a selection of artifacts from the Sheldon Jackson Museum
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Thursday, June 27, 2-3 pm
Artist-in-residence Lisa Kamahamak Lynch (Inupiaq) will give a presentation on a selection of artifacts from the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
Zoom Details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86943122492?pwd=U0RlODgrRElud1Z3cFJCcTh4ZHgrUT09
Meeting ID: 869 4312 2492
Passcode: Lynch
 Kaxhatjaa X’óow/Herring Protectors. Photo by Caitlin Blaisdell.
Protection: Adaptation and Resistance
Alaska State Museum through October 12
Protection: Adaptation and Resistance presents the work of more than 45 Alaska Native artists who explore the climate crisis, social justice, strengthening communities through ancestral knowledge, and imagining a thriving future.
Alaska State Museum
Juneau-based qayaq (kayak) maker Lou Logan will construct an open-sea qayaq at the Alaska State Museum this summer. Logan is making his first skin-on-frame qayaq in the tradition of his Iñupiaq ancestors from Wales, Alaska. His journey to making kayaks began in 2014 while working as a photographer at the museum. The kayaks he saw there inspired him to research Iñupiaq qayat as a way to expand his knowledge about his heritage. Logan’s grandmother was from Kingigin (Wales), Alaska, one of the oldest communities in the Bering Strait region.
A qayaq frame from King Island is on display in the gallery where Logan will be working. Logan is studying this frame while constructing his own qayaq.
There are fewer resources for Iñupiaq qayat compared to some other types. The techniques learned over generations were passed down in oral tradition. This knowledge was almost entirely lost due to cultural loss and assimilation. The qayaq itself is now the teacher.
— Logan, Juneau Empire
Logan does not have a set schedule, but you can see the progression of his qayaq throughout the summer. In the fall, he will give a talk about his process and research on the Southern Iñupiaq qayaq.
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 XX: Twenty Years of Alaskan Art
Ongoing at the Alaska State Museum
XX: Twenty Years of Alaskan Art features the work of contemporary Alaskan artists.
The museum acquired these pieces over the last twenty years though the generosity of the Rasmuson Foundation’s Alaska Art Fund.
Initiated in 2003, the Alaska Art Fund provides grants for Alaska museums to purchase current work by practicing Alaskan artists.
Thanks to the Fund, the Alaska State Museum has brought over 200 works of art valued at nearly half a million dollars into its permanent collection—the most significant donation over time, in terms of dollar value, in the museum’s 124-year history.
Fridays at noon. Free registration required.
Reading Aunt Phil’s Trunk, vol. 1, by Laurel Downing Bill and Phyllis Downing Carlson
Hundreds of rare historical photographs and dozens of entertaining nonfiction short stories bring to life Alaska's history up to 1900. The authors pay homage to the Alaska Natives, trappers, mushers, merchants and prospectors who forged a life in the Last Frontier. Whether you've lived in Alaska all your life, or always wanted to visit, this collection of stories from Alaska's colorful past will enthrall you.
Laurel Downing Bill wrote this together with her aunt, Alaskan historian Phyllis Downing Carlson. This first volume in the series shows the author's connection to her aunt and her passion for Alaska’s history. Join us!
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