Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2024 JURIED ART SHOWS, FILM FESTIVAL

June 5, 2024

Eleven artists have taken top prizes at Sealaska Heritage Institute’s 12th biennial Juried Art Show and Competition, and five young artists also placed in SHI’s 6th biennial Juried Youth Art Exhibit.  

Juried Art Show and Competition

Tlingit artists Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger and Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler won Best of Show for their piece “Dancing in the Summer Rain,” a spruce root hat which also took top prizes in the spruce root category and endangered arts division.

Tlingit artist Alison Bremner won Best of Formline for her drum, “Me, You and the Man on the Moon,” which also took top prizes in the painting and drawing category and 2D and relief carving division.

Pieces selected for best of category then competed for best of division. All Juried Art Show awardees, by division and category, and other pieces accepted into the show are listed below:

Carving and Sculpture Division

Division Winner

    • “Náaḵw Journey” by Lee Burkhart (Tlingit)

Category Winners

  • Wood
    • “Woodworm Grease Bowl” by Patrizia (Patty) Fiorella (Haida)
    • Honorable mention: “Raven Clan Hat” by Onn iss kwah James Johnson (Tlingit)
    • Honorable Mention: “A Message From the Deep” by Holtka Xsoo Clifton Guthrie (Tsimshian)
  • Metal
    • “Náaḵw Journey” by Lee Burkhart (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “Hide & Seek Champions” by Shkáx̱ kawdulaák Andrew Tripp (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “Eagle Mother” by Yakasei Calvin Morberg (Tlingit)
  • Other
    • “Transformation” by Amy Tessaro (Carcross/Tagish First Nation)

       

2D and Relief Carving Division

Division Winner

  • “Me, You and the Man on the Moon” by Alison Bremner (Tlingit)

Category Winners

  • Painting and Drawing
    • “Me, You and the Man on the Moon” by Alison Bremner (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “Legacy of Niishluut” by Holtka Xsoo Clifton Guthrie (Tsimshian)

Sewing Division

Division Winner

  • “Raven Transforms into Marilyn” by Xixtc’ i see Ruby Hughes (Tlingit/Tsimshian)

Category Winners

  • Skin and Fur
    • “Lady in Black” by Ooxyaa Shaxaawu’ Reine Pavlik (designer of Alaska Soles) (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “At Gugú (Its Ears) — ‘Bear Ears’” by Harold Jacobs (Tlingit)
  • Beadwork
    • “Sit’ Eetí G̱eeyi — The Bay in Place of the Glacier” by Kaasteen Jill Meserve (Tlingit)
  • Button Blankets, Vests
    • “Raven Transforms into Marilyn” by Xixtc’ i see Ruby Hughes (Tlingit/Tsimshian)
    • Honorable mention: “Gods Beautiful Creation the Mighty Salmon” by Aanchgwanutk’ Janice Jackson (Tlingit)

Weaving Division

Division Winner

  •  “Lightening Leggings” by Gunashaa Lisa Fisher (Tlingit/Tsimshian)

Category Winners

  • Chilkat
    • “Seven Generations” by Wooshkindein Da.áat Lily Hope (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “Unmasking — A Chilkat Inspired Self-Portrait” by Ksm Lx’sg̱a̱n Ruth Hallows (Tsimshian)
    • Honorable mention: “Chilkat Eagle Tunic” by Sainteen Dr. Anna Brown Ehlers (Tlingit)
  • Ravenstail
    • “Lightening Leggings” by Gunashaa Lisa Fisher (Tlingit/Tsimshian)
    • Honorable mention: “Pandemic Babysitter” by Wooshkindein Da.áat Lily Hope (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “Fishbone in the Night Sky” by Saak.adoo Davina (Cole) Drones (Tlingit)


 Endangered Arts Division

Division Winner

  • “Dancing in the Summer Rain” by Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger (Tlingit) and Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler (Tlingit)

Category Winners

  • Spruce Root
    • “Dancing in the Summer Rain” by Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger (Tlingit) and Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler (Tlingit)
    • Honorable mention: “Earth to Soul” by Jinaa Tlàa Janie Jensen (Tlingit/Iñupiaq)
  • Horn Spoon
    • “Yéts’ shál (Black Horn Spoon)” by Lee Burkhart (Tlingit)

       

Other Pieces Accepted for Show

  • Wolf Headdress” by Onn iss kwah James Johnson (Tlingit)
  •  “Cannibal Man Horn Spoon” by Onn iss kwah James Johnson (Tlingit)
  • “Tsaa Al’óoni” by Kaax̱ Tséen Herb Sheakley Jr. (Tlingit)
  • “Yéik yaakw” by Kaax̱ Tséen Herb Sheakley Jr. (Tlingit)
  • “Raven’s Reflection of Wealth” by Shkáx̱ kawdulaák Andrew Tripp (Tlingit)
  • “4-way Eagle Pendant Set with Wing Earrings” by Naa k’ool dzaaz eesh William Pfeifer Sr. (Tlingit)
  • “Shark” by Aa geitl g’e Carolyn Trebian (Tlingit)
  • “Wolf Moon Drum” by Kún Kuyáang Karl Hoffman (Tsimshian)
  •  “Chilkat Eagle Apron” by Sainteen Dr. Anna Brown Ehlers (Tlingit)


Northwest Coast artists Evelyn Vanderhoop and Tyson Brown served as jurors for the competition. They reviewed the pieces blindly, meaning the names of artists who submitted pieces were not disclosed. The Juried Art Show exhibit will be on display in the Nathan Jackson Gallery at the Walter Soboleff Building in Juneau through Dec. 6.

Juried Youth Art Exhibit

The Juried Youth Art Exhibit includes 12 objects made by eight middle and high school students from Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Yakutat and Mesa, AZ. The following artists took top prizes:

        High School

  •  First place: “Beaded Moccasins” by Kristall Bullock, Ketchikan Indian Community, Northwest Coast art program
  • Second place: “Cedar Hat” by Kristall Bullock, Ketchikan Indian Community, Northwest Coast art program
  • Third place: “Crab Hands” by Kisheo Baines, Steller Secondary School, Anchorage School District
  • Honorable mention: “Watcher from the Heavens” by Sabrina Pierce, Thunder Mountain High School, Juneau School District

        Middle School

  • First place: “Kéet, Orca” by Sydney Loomis, Sitka Fine Arts Camp
  • Second place: “Raven Moiety Paddles” by Nikki Schumaher, Yakutat High School

The 2024 Juried Youth Art Exhibit juror was Jackson Polys, Naakushtáa, or Stephen Paul Jackson, a Tlingit artist and educator.

In a statement, he addressed the young artists: “Thank you, young artists, for bringing your energy and dedication to the 2024 Youth Art Exhibit. Seeing the work you submitted is encouraging and inspiring; we see that the next generations are willing to take risks in order to advance both individual creativity and cultural revitalization. The artworks in both the middle school and high school divisions reveal developments in your artistic voices as you learn, experiment and refine to create works that keep our culture growing and thriving.”

The youth exhibit will be on display at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center through June 28.

Juried Film Festival

At Celebration 2024, SHI sponsored its first ever Juried Film Festival in an effort to support Indigenous storytelling through digital media.

Jurors chose four films from 10 excellent submissions to show during Celebration and award prizes. The winners are:

  • Isabella Edmo for “My Sunflower
  • Douglas Joe for “Tlingit Samurai”
  • Jeremy Katzeek for “Bifgoot”
  • Alex Sallee for “X̱áat Ḵwáani, ‘Salmon People’”

Jurors were Ed Littlefield, a Tlingit percussionist, educator and composer, and Frank Katasse, a Tlingit actor, director, producer, improviser, educator and playwright.

The films will be shown at 6 p.m., Friday, June 7, at the Gold Town Theater, located at 171 Shattuck Way, Suite 109, inside the Emporium Mall. SHI will also premiere its film “Tlingit Macbeth” at the theater at 5 p.m., Thursday, June 6.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Captions: From top, “Dancing in the Summer Rain,” Best of Show, by Tlingit artists Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger and Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler. “Me, You and the Man on the Moon,” Best of Formline, by Tlingit artist Alison Bremner. “Beaded Moccasins,” First Place, Juried Youth Art Exhibit, by Kristall Bullock.

Photos by Brian Wallace, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: news outlets are welcome to use these photos for coverage of this story. For higher-res versions, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com

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