The Alutiiq Museum will receive $35,000 from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to create educational resources on Alutiiq weaving. Funds from the foundation’s Arts and Culture Program will support the development of an exhibit on Alutiiq weaving and an educational booklet to accompany it.

“This project builds on the Alutiiq Museum’s efforts to invigorate the weaving arts by connecting people to collections” said Museum Manager Katie St. John. “In 2011, Sven Haakanson took a team of weavers to St. Petersburg to study Aleut and Alutiiq basketry. One goal of the project was bring weaving knowledge back to Alaska. Part of returning this knowledge is creating resources for the entire community. The exhibit and booklet will help many people explore Alutiiq weaving and create a lasting, accessible record of baskets stored far from home.”

Work on the exhibit will begin this fall with an opening planned for May 2014, in time for Kodiak’s annual Crab Festival. The show will be available in the museum’s gallery for at least three years, and replace a current display on the Cape Alitak petroglyphs. The booklet, a paperback filled with picture of historic Alutiiq and Aleut baskets, will be sold in the museum store.

“Prehistoric, historic, and contemporary basketry will be united in the show,” said exhibits coordinator Jill Lipka. “We want to share the history of Alutiiq weaving and give people a sense of the beauty and complexity of the weaving arts. We are also planning to have weaving stations where visitors can try their hand at twining and knot tying.”

Based in Seattle, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation supports non-profit organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Their philanthropy focuses on organizations that advance social change through creativity, innovation, and inspiration. Scientific research, the arts, and service to vulnerable peoples are among their top priorities. This is the Alutiiq Museum’s second grant from the foundation. In 2006, the museum received support for Generations, a professionally recorded collection of Alutiiq music.

Source: Alutiiq Museum