You Want Kodiak History Exhibits to Include...

At the end of 2012, the Baranov Museum asked you to complete an exhibit survey so that museum staff could confidently move forward in planning for the renovation of the museum's permanent exhibits. Your answers were analyzed and seriously mulled over, and while there were many interesting tidbits that emerged, here is the response to one of the most important questions:

Question: What aspects of Kodiak history and culture do you think it important to see in new exhibits in the museum?

Topic /  % that agree and strongly agree

Russians in Alaska  91.1%

Natural Disasters  87.5%

Immigration and Cultural Diversity  80.9%

Commercial Fisheries  78.8%

Recent Past  77.9%

Alutiiq History and Culture  73%

Business and Industry  66.6%

Military  65.2%

Fine Arts  60.9%

Community Development  56.3%

Note: Bold indicates most common answer was "strongly agree."

From this information and other data gathered through the survey and conversations, museum staff came up with the two "big ideas" that will guide the new exhibitions:

1. Kodiak is an international crossroads/ Kodiak is a crossroads of diversity
2. The Russian American Magazin has witnessed 200 years of Kodiak history

But before we were certain to move forward with these major themes, we wanted to make sure that the survey results really reflected the feelings of the community. As a result, we held a series of four community conversations, during which we shared the survey results over lunch with Kodiakans. During the conversations, we also asked everyone what they thought about the "big ideas" listed above. The results? Yes, the survey does accurately portray what Kodiak citizens think is important about our history. And yes, Kodiakans really do see our island home as a crossroads of diversity, and are interested in learning more about Kodiak history through the eyes of the oldest building in Alaska.

So, where are we now? While we still have lots of work to do, thanks to the participation of the Kodiak community, we have determined that the exhibits will discuss the following aspects of Kodiak history, and whenever possible, examine the history through the eyes of the building:

A Russian Colony in an Alutiiq Land: We will show Kodiak in the international realm of the 18^th/ 19^th centuries and show the connections that existed on the ground between Russian and Alutiiq peoples. The Russian-American Company was completely dependent on Kodiak Alutiit.  As a result, we propose to look at the Russian era with an eye towards the czar and an eye towards the sea otter hunter.

From Eastern Frontier to "Out the Westward": Kodiak Becomes American: What happened when Russia left, and U.S. officials rarely showed their faces?

Local Resources in an International Market: The fur trade (from the Russian fur trade to fox farms in the 1930s) and commercial fishing have attracted diverse individuals to Kodiak, and the commodities were/ are important to international markets.

Forces of Change: The Katmai eruption in 1912, World War Two, and the 1964 earthquake and tsunami profoundly changed Kodiak.

What do you think about these ideas? Please call (486-5920) or e-mail (anjuli@baranovmuseum.org), or leave a comment below to share your thoughts. We will be hosting other community conversations in the near future, so please keep your eyes open for announcements.

Sally Troxell Art Show

"Reeds" art quilt by Sally Troxell was recently purchased by
the museum thanks to the Rasmuson Foundation's Art
Acquisition Fund. Kodiak Hsitorical Society Collections.

This Friday, we are thrilled to be hosting an art show and sale of Sally Troxell's work as part of the Art and Culture Walk. Sally is an accomplished artist who creates bold and colorful art quilts that often incorporate maritime and natural motifs. Her inventive sewing style makes her art easily recognizable within the community of Kodiak. She will have many recent works hanging within the enclosed glass porch of the museum, which will be available for purchase. In addition, we are pleased to have several of Sally’s smaller works for sale in the museum store.

"Sockeye" is embellished with
beads and buttons to mimic
seaweed. Kodiak Historical
Society Collections.

Moreover, we are pleased to announce that the museum has received a grant from the Rasmuson Foundation’s Art Acquisition Fund to purchase four of Sally’s quilt for the museum’s permanent collection. The Art Acquisition Fund exists to support both contemporary Alaskan artists and Alaskan museums and cultural centers by making money available for museums and cultural centers to purchase recently created works of art. “Sockeye,” “Streamside,” “The Reeds,” and “The River” are bold, colorful pieces that depict the journey of migrating salmon. These newest additions to the museum’s art collection will be on display Friday, and beginning in October they will be on temporary exhibit within the museum. We thank the Rasmuson Foundation and Sally for these pieces.

For over 20 years, Sally has dedicated herself to sewing and embellishing intricate quilts. She comes from a line of gifted seamstresses and quilters. She took up quilting regularly as a young adult, when she moved with her family to remote Anton Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island. Sally writes that “making quilts and knitting sweaters for my family fit into the DIY/ handmade lifestyle that we were living.”

"Streamside" by Sally Troxell will be on exhibit at the museum for the Art and Culture Walk and again beginning in October.
Kodiak Historical Society Collections.

In 2010, Sally took a relief printing workshop under Evon Zerbetz, which influenced her work profoundly. Prior to the course, she usually employed commercial fabrics, but since 2010, most of her art quilts incorporate the art of printmaking. She carves linocuts and creates block prints on fabric, which she then incorporates into her art quilts. Additionally, she now hand dyes fabric, so that most of her pieces now contain both commercial fabric and hand printed and hand dyed fabrics.

"The River" by Sally Troxell.
Kodiak Historical Society Collections

Sally Troxell’s art quilts have been exhibited at the Anchorage Museum’s 2008 exhibition, Earth, Fire and Fiber and at the Kodiak Bear Paw Quilt Guild Show. In addition, her work hangs in Representative Alan Austerman’s congressional office, at Kodiak College, at the A. Holmes Johnson Memorial Library in Kodiak, at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, among other locations. Now, her work has another permanent home with the Baranov Museum/ Kodiak Historical Society.

Please come to the museum on Friday, August 31 from 4-7 to see Sally’s newest work and pick up one of her art quilts for yourself.