Collections Grants

The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) received support from the Terra Foundation to realize the Ataqaanusix Exhibit (“to be united” in the Unangax language), an interpretation of the diverse Alaska Native cultures, for the benefit of Alaska Native community members, the Alaskan youth community, and Anchorage residents and visitors. Presented in the Hall of Cultures and drawn from the ANHC’s permanent collection, the exhibit recognizes the complexity and continuity of Alaska Native cultures and the power of art forms that are rooted in spans of time extending back into the deep past.

“The authentic representation of the five regional cultural groups on display in the Ataqaanusix Exhibit is core to the identity of the Alaska Native Heritage Center,” noted Kelsey Wallace, President and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center. “The plan to show the five central objects on display in this exhibit—(1) a drum, (2) a dentalium necklace, (3) a Yup’ik mask, (4) a tinaa, and (5) a model qayaq with a hunter—was developed as the foundation of the organization’s aim to tell the story of the diversity and connections across the cultural groups of the Indigenous peoples of Alaska. The new style and focus of our interpretation of these objects puts them at the center of our visitor experience. Our Cultural Advisory Committees who have guided the center since our founding, along with an array of culture bearers from every region, have lauded our commitment to centering these critically important objects and our new approach to educating the globe about Alaska Native cultures and peoples.”

The collection installation ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik, or essence of life, makes Inuit artistic and cultural heritage more accessible to all audiences. The project, which features 120 works by around 70 artists and includes texts in Inuktitut, French, and English, was conceived in collaboration with Inuk artist and curator asinnajaq in consultation with an Inuit discussion circle. Works by emerging, midcareer, and elder artists highlight Inuit kinship systems and intergenerational mentorship.

“The installation not only enhances the visibility of Inuit art but also contributes to preserving and celebrating the cultural contributions of Inuit communities across the circumpolar regions,” noted Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) director Stéphane Aquin. “Over the past few years, the MMFA has co-created numerous projects with Indigenous specialists, communities, and organizations. ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: Essence of Life has deepened these relations and amplified Inuit voices at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.”

In The Wider World & Scrimshaw, the New Bedford Whaling Museum placed its scrimshaw collection in conversation with carved decorative arts and material culture made by Indigenous community members from across the Pacific and Arctic. This interdisciplinary, community-driven, and collections-focused project engaged questions about identity, place, and material, and considered how exploration and whaling impacted the production of material culture in this diverse region between 1700 and the present. The exhibition, which benefited from the guidance of a diverse advisory board of artists, scholars, and culture bearers, featured more than three hundred historical and contemporary objects, directing particular attention to works that indicate cultural and material exchanges. The project asked: How did whaling affect these different communities and their unique art forms from New Bedford to Aotearoa to Utqiaġvik? In what ways do these legacies continue within contemporary art, communities, and cultures?

“This project has transformed how the museum interprets its global collections and thinks about scrimshaw, long an isolated category connected to a white, historical maritime past,” said Naomi Slipp, Douglas & Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for Chief Curator and Director of Museum Learning. “The museum forged meaningful relationships with individuals around the world and developed a curatorial methodology rooted in collaboration that visibly frames the ongoing connections between items at the museum, descendant communities, and living artistic practices. We are working on future projects that benefit from these relationships and the lessons learned from this exhibition.”