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- By Native News Online Staff
Museums Alaska has announced its 2025 Alaska Art Fund and Collections Management Fund grant recipients, awarding $208,440.15 to 12 museums and cultural organizations across the state.
Through the two grant programs, museums and cultural centers apply for funding to purchase or commission artwork by contemporary Alaska artists and to strengthen their ability to care for, manage and share collections.
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“This year we are excited to fund a variety of artwork purchases and collections projects—from a sculpture inspired by a micro-organism to a collections project identifying tiny flies,” said Dixie Clough, director of Museums Alaska. “Managing these grant programs is always fascinating because all of our museums and cultural centers are working on wildly different, but very interesting initiatives.”
Museums Alaska administers the Alaska Art Fund — formerly the Art Acquisition Fund — and the Collections Management Fund in partnership with the Rasmuson Foundation.
“Rasmuson Foundation is a wonderful supporter of museums and cultural centers, as shown by their long-time support for the AAF and CMF grant programs,” Clough said. “We are grateful and always honored to manage these programs for our field with Rasmuson Foundation’s support.”
In this funding cycle, 12 organizations received grants supporting artwork acquisitions and nine collections management projects. Funded projects are located in Anchorage, Juneau, Kodiak, Eagle, Ketchikan, Fairbanks, Kake, Haines and the Hatcher Pass area.
Collections Management Fund — $155,825.15
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$17,600 — Alaska State Museum: Development of collaborative care and repair protocols for beaded collections in partnership with the museum’s Bead Study Group, addressing three primary condition issues.
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$19,688.60 — Alutiiq Museum: Transfer of the Crag Point archaeological assemblage from the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks to Kodiak, including cataloging, improved identifications, digitization of field notes and rehousing the collection within the community.
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$19,997.95 — Chugach Museum: Evaluation, processing and cataloging of archival collections through contracted assessment, organization, rehousing and development of a digital preservation plan.
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$19,945 — Eagle Historical Society: Second-phase funding to assess, clean and rehouse moosehide drapes and other textiles, including conservation work to stabilize items for exhibition.
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$2,159.60 — Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center: Purchase of a freezer and HEPA vacuum to safely clean and treat collection objects.
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$20,000 — Juneau-Douglas City Museum: Relocation and installation of the Harnessing of the Atom Kootéeyaa inside the Mendenhall Valley Library to protect the totem pole from environmental damage and extend the lifespan of the artwork by Amos Wallas.
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$17,470 — Ketchikan Museums: Redesign and re-curation of the Classroom Exhibit, including the purchase, shipment and installation of new display cases and mounts, as well as staff training.
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$19,040 — Alaska State Parks: Inventory and establishment of intellectual control for the collection at Independence Mine State Historical Park.
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$19,924 — University of Alaska Museum of the North: Curation of more than 9,000 flower flies collected across Alaska over the past century, including species-level identification, photography and database updates.
Alaska Art Fund — $52,615
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$20,000 — Alaska Botanical Garden: Commission of a sculpture by Gideon Gerlt titled Foreign and Familiar, depicting an enlarged microorganism that visitors can walk inside and view the surrounding landscape through a kaleidoscope-like lens.
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$615 — Alutiiq Museum: Purchase of four pairs of earrings by Yvonne Mullan and a woven pendant necklace by Mariah Stapleton to expand representation within the museum’s collections.
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$20,000 — Organized Village of Kake: Commission of artist Robert Mills to work with apprentices on formline designs for a traditionally dugout canoe — the first created in Kake since the late 1800s — and a modern fiberglass canoe.
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$12,000 — Sealaska Heritage Institute: Commission of a monumental mask by Brian Walker II titled Ade, a Deg Xiang greeting that invites visitor interaction and exploration of Deg Hit’an mask traditions.
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