Thanks to the Juneau Borough Assembly’s actions, the City Museum in Juneau has acquired new “artwork” by local artists who received federal funds through Juneau’s $330,000 CARES ArtWorks grant. Thirty-five projects were funded by the grant and the museum will receive items from six of the artists.
These include three LGBTQ inclusive Alaska Native face masks, woven by Lily Hope that will be added to the permanent collection. Titled “Ancestral Indigenous Protectors,” Hope says the face coverings “lean on the strength of our ancestors, reinstating historical indigenous protection for all members of our community, inclusive of all genders, sexual expressions and self-identity.”
Another item is the “Regalia Basket,” made by Della Cheney with cedar bark and also slated for the museum’s permanent collection.
Abel Ryan used her federal funds to create a wooden box and some design screens titled, “Recognizable Changes.” Ryan describes the screens as “three paintings showing how we, in the singular design, have seen and felt change outwardly, and still work to preserve that special part of ourselves at our core, remembering who we are and how things were.”
Ryan’s bentwood box will hold postcards written by anonymous community members describing life during the pandemic. The postcard project titled, “Covid Secrets,” was brainstormed by Larissa Manewal another recipient of the federal CARES Act funds.
Additional pieces include more designer face masks and a mosaic made from recycled glass.
Click here to view the Juneau CARES ArtWorks grant recipients and learn more about each piece.
TAKING ACTION
- Contacts for the City Museum in Juneau: (907) 586-3572 or museum.info@juneau.org
- Click here to contact members of the Juneau Assembly.
