We are happy to announce our second round of Art Acquisition Fund (AAF) and Collections Management Fund (CMF) grantees! In this round, we are awarding $140,835 to thirteen organizations across Alaska.

As always, we want to thank Rasmuson Foundation for their generous support for these two grant programs. We also want to thank our amazing panelists who spent their personal time to carefully consider the applications.

We are waiting for Rasmuson Foundation’s decision regarding funding for the next several years of the grant programs, but we will keep you updated when we have information on any changes to the grant programs and when the grants will reopen!

Collections Management Fund - Round 2 Grants

• $3,465 - The Pioneer Air Museum will purchase custom-made bookshelf covers to protect collection objects stored on open shelves.

• $13,390 - The Palmer Museum of History and Art will purchase a Bookeye book scanner to more efficiently digitize their collections.

• $12,325 - The Hammer Museum will purchase Lantern devices and create an audio tour of their museum.

• $8,149 - The Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center will rehouse and reorganize archival collections and digitize photographs related to Alaska Native residential boarding facilities that were Haines-based.

• $5,220 - The Resurrection Bay Historical Society will contract with a conservator to clean, repair, and remount their 1974 Iditarod Race Mukluks, as well as hold a two-day, four-hour workshop on the care of clothing and fiber-based collections for museum staff, board, and a member from Seward Friends of the Library, which also has fiber-based collection items.

• $7,056 - Alaska Aviation Museum will complete a pilot project that will allow them to begin a full inventory of their collection and update important collections procedure documents in the process.

• $9,905 - The Sealaska Heritage Institute will contract with a conservator and storage mount-maker to complete work on twenty-five new collection items from the Wells Fargo Museum. Both consultants will also provide training to the Collections Manager as they work.

• $3,550 - Alaska Botanical Gardens will improve their art collection management practices by training staff in collections care, and creating collections care and cataloging policies.

Art Acquisition Fund - Round 2 Grants

• $8,500 - The Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center will acquire Troller, a nautical-themed guitar created by Rob Goldberg, a local artist who has been the recipient of two past Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Awards.

• $6,250 - The Sitka Historical Society will acquire an Aleut/Alutiiq open crown hunting visor and throwing dart set, created by Peter Lind, Sr., to assist them in telling the history of the Aluet/Alutiiq peoples in Sitka.

• $17,000 - The Alaska State Museum will acquire a traditional Spruce Root Hat woven with a skil (property ring) at the top, which was created as a collaborative effort by the family of Delores Churchill (Haida) of Ketchikan. It will be the first hat of its kind in their collection and will check off an item on their collections development plan.

• $3,700 - The Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will commission an Octopus Bag from artist Jill Kaasteen Meserve. This will allow SHI to add a modern octopus bag to their collections in time for an upcoming exhibition on Alaska Native Women Artists. It will also improve their collection of artworks created by women—many of which have been traditionally seen as “crafts” instead of “art”.

• $18,900 - The Ketchikan Museums will commission a set of five Tiffany-style, stained glass windows for their Tongass Historical Museum entryway from local artist Terry Leberman. The windows will depict scenes of Ketchikan Creek featuring the seasons and moods of the creek and the creatures that depend upon it.

• $675 - Kodiak Historical Society will acquire Across Blue Seas, a beaded necklace and earrings set from local artist Mary Jane Longrich that will help the museum tell the story of trade beads and the prominent role they play in Alutiiq history and artistry.

• $4,500 - Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) will acquire Credible, a piece from a series addressing abuses perpetrated by the Catholic Church in the State of Alaska. The artwork was created by Athabascan and Iñupiaq artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs. ANHC will use this piece to engender empathy and awareness of child sexual abuse, an issue that has plagued the Alaska Native community since missionization.

• $7,000 - Alaska State Museum will acquire Out Late Again, I See, a contemporary diorama by Juneau-based artist Mitch Watley. The retro-futuristic piece will improve the museum’s collections of contemporary sculptural work and Alaskan art, and add a touch of humor to their collection.

• $11,250 - Alaska Aviation Museum will commission three pieces by artist John Hume for their upcoming permanent exhibition Explorers and Pathfinders. The pieces will depict three important aviation moments that do not have photographic evidence: the Discovery of Merrill Pass in 1927, the Wilkins Arctic Expedition in 1928, and the Cosmic Ray Expedition to Mt. McKinley in 1932.

We want to congratulate everyone on their successful grant applications! We can’t wait to see the progress on your projects.