Juneau, Alaska

Sealaska Heritage Institute Arts Campus

Problem

Traditional skills—weaving, pottery, foodways, herbalism—risk being lost. Elders hold knowledge but lack pathways to market. Youth don't see heritage work as economically viable.

Solution

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI, founded 1980) opened the roughly 6,000 sq ft Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus (Antnané Hít) in downtown Juneau on 2022-06-08 with a stated goal of making Juneau the Northwest Coast arts capital; its campus classes cover formline, weaving, carving, metal engraving, skin sewing, tool making and material harvesting, many for UAS credit. SHI owns the Sealaska Heritage Store (in the Walter Soboleff Building and online), recruits Native artists to sell there and at monthly First Friday markets, and runs the biennial Celebration festival (since 1982) with a juried art show, Native artist market and fashion show; McDowell Group studies put Celebration's Juneau economic impact at about $2 million (2012) and $2.1 million in visitor spending (2018).

Patterns used: Heritage-to-Market Program

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