Artist Opportunities

Every two years the Alaska State Museum solicits Alaskan artists to submit their portfolios for solo exhibitions. The next call for proposals will open September 3, 2019. The first of this series of solo exhibits will open at the Alaska State Museum in the fall of 2020. The series will conclude winter of 2022.

Please note: The Sheldon Jackson Museum will also open a call for solo artist exhibit proposals on October 14, 2019.

2016-2019 selected artists:

• Sara Tabbert: printmaker and sculptor from Fairbanks
• Linda Infante Lyons: painter from Anchorage
• Carmel Anderson: installation artist from Ketchikan
• Daniel Papke: painter from Skagway
• Amy Meissner: quilter from Anchorage
• Charles Rohrbacher: icon painter from Juneau
• Annette Bellamy: sculptor from Halibut Cove
• Donald Varnell: Haida carver and mixed media artist from Ketchikan

Now in its 49 ^th year, Alaska Positive encourages photography as an art form in Alaska. The next call for entries for Alaska Positive will open September 3, 2019. Entries will be juried by nationally renowned photographer, David Michael Kennedy.

Guest juror David Michael Kennedy's photographic career spans over 40 years. His works are held in museum collections including the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Institute. Kennedy's career started in New York with commercial photography including iconic portraits of musicians, actors and artists. In 1986 he moved to New Mexico to focus on fine art photography. His name is synonymous with New Mexico landscapes. Kennedy's images are materialized through the platinum/palladium printing technique, a pre-digital, by-hand process at which he is considered one of the best in the world.

In addition to receiving recognition for their work, photographers whose photos are selected for Alaska Positive 2019 will compete for several cash awards. Kennedy will bestow one Juror's Choice award for $300, and two $150 Awards of Recognition. The awards are sponsored by the Friends of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museum (FoSLAM). Kennedy will also select some photographs for Honorable Mention.

Alaska Positive will open at the Alaska State Museum on December 6, 2019 and through February 15, 2020. The exhibition will then travel to museums throughout Alaska including the following:

• Sheldon Jackson Museum: March – May, 2020
• Wasilla Museum & Visitor Center: June – September, 2020
• University of Alaska Museum of the North: October – November, 2020
• Haines Sheldon Museum: mid-December – February, 2021
• Cordova Historical Museum: March – mid-April, 2021
• Valdez Museum: May – September, 2021

Exhibit dates are subject to change.

The solicitation for solo exhibitions by Alaska Native artists is organized by the Sheldon Jackson Museum. Artists who reside in AK and are interested in applying for a solo exhibition are asked to submit an application for review on CaFÉ.

The Sheldon Jackson Museum was founded in 1888 to house an exceptional collection of Alaska Native ethnographic material. The Sheldon Jackson Museum and its collection were purchased by the State of Alaska to inspire human thought and artistic endeavor, to stimulate ethnographic research and to foster an awareness of, and an appreciation for, the enriching qualities of a multi-cultural existence.

Call for submissions will open on October 14, 2019 and close on November 23, 2019. The call will be for two solo exhibitions: January through mid-April of 2021 and January through mid-April of 2022. For more information contact the Sheldon Jackson Museum curator by calling 907-747-8904 or e-mailing Jackie Fernandez-Hamberg.

The exhibition will be held in a small gallery space at the Sheldon Jackson Museum. The gallery dimensions, available display cases and hanging system will be detailed in the call.

Since 1988, summer visitors to the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka have enjoyed the opportunity to meet Alaska Native artists-in-residence at the Sheldon Jackson Museum. The artists discuss their culture, artwork, and creative process with visitors as they work in the gallery and give lectures and hands-on workshops and lead other public programs of their own design.

The next application period for the Alaska Native artists-in-residence program will run from December 9, 2019 through January 29, 2020. For an application or answers to questions about the program, contact the Sheldon Jackson Museum curator by calling 907-747-8904 or e-mailing Jackie Fernandez-Hamberg.

Individuals interested in making a donation to the residency program should contact the Friends of the Sheldon Jackson Museum (SJM) by calling (907) 747-6233 or emailing Friends of SJM.