Museums Alaska, a statewide museum association, announced today (11/17) that it is awarding twelve grants across the state. Two of Ketchikan’s museums will be getting some of the funding.
Museums Alaska awards grants to museums across the state twice a year from funding set aside by the Rasmuson Foundation, another statewide nonprofit. In this latest round, over $150,000 will be split across a dozen museums. Ketchikan Museums received three grants totaling almost $33,000. That’s the most of any of the awarded organizations.
Anita Maxwell is the director of Ketchikan Museums, which oversees the Tongass Historical Museum and Totem Heritage Center. She said these types of grants allow them to do things they’d never be able to in their normal operations budget.
“We really depend on these kinds of pieces, because it’s not something that we can do within our regular operational grants. So, one grant that we received was a collections management grant. And as the name implies, it is to help us manage our collection,” said Maxwell.
Maxwell said the Totem Heritage Center used to have classes in the traditional art of engraving through the native art studies program, but they haven’t been able to offer them in recent years. The grants will allow them to purchase two jewelry pieces from Norman Jackson, a master Lingít carver born and raised in Ketchikan.
The largest grant, which is $20,000, will go towards buying two new custom textile cabinets. “I know that probably doesn’t sound exciting to anyone but us!” Maxwell said, “but two textile cabinets will be a huge help for us. Because obviously, we have a lot of regalia and that kind of thing that we really want to make sure we’re protecting to the best of our ability.”
The rest of the money will go towards buying a vest called DaKl’aweidi from Lingít fur artist Christie Ruby – her first piece to be added to the museum. The vest features fur from sea otters that were hunted around Ketchikan.
Other recipients of the grants are museums in Sitka, Bristol Bay, Kodiak, Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.
