PRATT MUSEUM

established in 1968

Qena Sint’isis by Argent Kvasnikoff

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April 7 – May 29, 2017

The Kachemak dialect of the Dena’ina language now only exists in fragments of historical records. Contemporary descendants, many of whom are lineally affiliated to the Ninilchik and Seldovia tribes, reflect the rapid cultural diffusion as diverse Native and non-Native cultures have contributed elements into local family traditions. This lack of cultural continuity, compounded by a lack of academic attention and public discourse, have left a significant gap in public understanding of the Dena’ina language and related issues particular to the Southern Kenai region.

Qena Sint’isis presents a unique form of cultural expression that describes a new take on the indigenous culture of the southern Kenai Peninsula using the universal experience of language.  This visual representation of the Dena’ina language will convey the importance of people’s relationships with all language, and how cultural information can be found within visual language. The goals of this program series and its future applications are to both share information about the Dena’ina language using visual elements, to share information about traditional Dena’ina culture, and to encourage people to explore language through the lens of a different writing system in order to experience how cultural information can be transformed in front of their eyes.

Opening reception Friday, April 7, 5-7 p.m.

Special Presentation: Seeing Language: Writing in Art & Design with graphic designer Erico Nascimento. Friday, May 5, 2pm.

Funded in part by The CIRI Foundation, Ninilchik Traditional Council, Ninilchik Natives Association Inc., Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and City of Homer.

Don Henry: Bikes By the Bay

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Sculpture and Drawings

February 1 – April 1, 2017

Featuring five full-size art bikes exhibited together for the first time.

Don Henry began doing metal art in the early sixties. He entered his first competition in 1966 and took Best of Show. He moved to Alaska in 1974 and then to Homer in 1984.

Don has donated many pieces to benefit local non-profits and has work in the Bunnell St. Gallery and the Fireweed Gallery, both in Homer, Alaska. You can also find some of his pieces in prominent public places such as the Pratt Museum, the Homer Airport, Homer City Hall, Homer Public Library, and various parks and at the Public Works department.

He has shown works at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art and the House of Harley in Anchorage as well as the Cabin Fever Gallery in Anchorage and at the Capitol Building in Juneau.

His unique art has been featured in the Homer Tribune, Homer News and on KTUU Channel 2 News (NBC). Commissioned pieces are in private collections and public facilities in California, Louisiana, Alaska and Montana.

Bikes by the Bay will be open to the public on Feburary 1, with an official opening reception on Friday, February 3 from 5-7 p.m.

Inspired by Diaries

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November 11 – December 29

Have you ever kept a diary or journal? Had the opportunity to peruse the personal writing of your ancestors? Several diaries and journals are held in the collections of the Pratt Museum: their stories range from weather reports and moose sightings to extended narrative and personal reflection. Often the written word leaves much to be imagined, and could serve as a jumping-off point for something more.

The Pratt Museum is excited to present Inspired by Diaries, featuring artwork inspired by personal and historical diaries. Also on exhibit will be numerous excerpts and original historical diaries from the Pratt Collections.

Museum Macabre: The Pratt Files

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October 7 – 29, 2016

img_7014Like many historic institutions that emerged in the latter half of the 21st century, the Pratt has a lurid, less well-known founding mission: to document the undocumented and unexplained, specifically the extraterrestrial alien unknown. Due to filing issues, the shuffle of organizational merges and departmental shifts, the original founding documents and primary collections of the Pratt Museum were lost over time. However, a recent inventory and re-housing project uncovered several objects that shifted the entire paradigm of our understanding for the museum’s collections. This exhibit shares a few of the stories associated with Kachemak Bay’s extraterrestrial history over the last century. . . . Or does it? Join us for October 7-29, and see if you can distinguish between fact or fiction!