WINNERS OF SEALASKA JURIED ART SHOW ANNOUNCED

Six artists have taken top awards at the fourth Sealaska Juried Art Competition in Juneau for best contemporary and traditional Native art.

The winners, chosen by juror Steve Brown, an artist and expert on Northwest Coast formline, are:

Traditional Art

• Best of Show- “Dawn of the Love Birds” Chilkat blanket by Anna Brown Ehlers

• 1^st Place- “Tsimshian Bear Frontlet” by John Hudson

• 2^nd Place-“Chilkat Frog” by Anna Brown Ehlers

• 3^rd Place- “Man from Dundas” mask by John Hudson

Contemporary Art

• Best of Show- “Woman of Justice” blanket by Della Cheney

• 1^st Place- “Manifesting the Intangible” drum by Mike Dangeli

• 2^nd Place- “Swimming Killer Whale” apron by Chloe French

• 3^rd Place- “Yéil Taakw” by Shgen George

Thirteen other artists also were chosen to exhibit their work in the show. Those artists included:

• Sophia Anderson

• Vivian Benson

• George Bennett, Jr

• Jackie D’Canfango Kookesh

• Dolly Garza

• Norman Jackson (Kake)

• Norman Jackson (Ketchikan)

• Tommy Joseph

• Deborah Mclavey

• Malcolm Miller

• Opal (Helgesen) Olsen

• Jada Katherine Smith

• Ivan Williams

The artist Norman Jackson of Kake passed away after he entered the contest, and he was recognized at the ceremony by SHI President Rosita Worl and Juror Steve Brown. Cheney, who is Jackson’s sister, said he taught her about form line and weaving.

“I’m exciting and happy I was recognized and my brother was recognized, and my brother’s son is here, and he heard some of the wonderful things Steve Brown said about my brother,” Cheney said.

Ehlers, who won Best of Show Traditional, also won 2^nd place for her Chilkat weavings.

“I’m amazed because there’s some beautiful, beautiful carvings and weaving here, I’m just very, very surprised and pleased," Ehlers said.

Their work will be on exhibit at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center through June 27. Many of the pieces are available for purchase.

SHI founded the biennial Juried Art Show and Competition in 2002 to promote the development of Southeast Alaska Native arts.  The goals of the Juried Art Show are:

-To encourage and enhance the creation and production of Southeast Alaska Native objects of artistic value which have fallen into disuse and are becoming rare.

-To stimulate and enhance the quality of artistic work among our Native artisans.

-To encourage the development of new forms of art of purely Southeast Alaska Native form and design. 

To ensure an objective judging process, the names of the artists were not included with the photos of objects viewed during selection.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a Native nonprofit founded by Sealaska Corp. in 1980 to administer the corporation’s cultural programs. The mission of the Institute is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.