PRATT MUSEUM

Capital Update – June 2015

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Just in: Updated Renderings of the Building Exterior, Floor Plan, and Site!

Over the past few months, Pratt project architects, engineers and staff have been developing the new building design and site plan.

One change to the previous schematic design includes the location of air handling systems, creating a new roof line. Tweaks have also been made to remove the need for pillars in the main gallery and gain more overhead space for the gray whale. To better account for existing slopes and handicapped access, the Phase 1 Site Plan has been modified.

Design Development will be completed in early August, and construction drawings will be completed in the fall. We will be shovel-ready by the end of the year!

Substantive planning work on aquaria and exhibit design is in the works and we’ll have some exciting drawings to show off very soon! Exhibit design will continue through 2016.

Fundraising also continues. We expect the State’s budget situation will delay the construction timeline. We are working on other sources of funding in lieu of the remaining piece of the State appropriation that was originally requested.

Ocean Treasure, Ocean Trash

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August 7 – September October 4, 2015
Opening Reception: August 7, 5-7 p.m.

Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies,
in celebration of the 30th Annual Kachemak Bay CoastWalk

Fishing NetThe ocean is a treasure that connects everyone in this world; it circulates through winds and currents, carries nutrients from one bay to the next, and houses an abundance of life. This hands-on exhibit shows how we fit into this watery world, how we impact the life within it, and how we can be the solution to ocean pollution.

This exhibit is supported in part by Apache Alaska Corporation, Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and City of Homer.

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Gull Island Camera Installation

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On April 30, 2015, Pratt Museum staff and consultants made the annual trek to Gull Island to install the camera used to view nesting seabirds. Over the summer, visitors to the museum can remotely control the camera to view kittiwakes, common murres, puffins, guillemots, cormorants, sea otters and more. This year’s trip included replacing the solar array used to power the camera. We decided to document this entire process and create a time-lapse view of the work. Here is an abbreviated look at a couple of hours spent on the island.

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As of this post, May 6, the SeeBird Camera is online at the Pratt Museum. There are already numerous murres rafting offshore, and some kittiwakes on the island. Visit the Pratt Museum’s Marine Gallery to explore the island for yourself!

Watermark

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June 4 – August 4, 2015
Opening reception: Thursday, June 4, 5-7 p.m.

 

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Asia Freeman and Michael Walsh present a duo show depicting their connections to the local landscape through painting and moving images. Freeman presents new oil paintings. Walsh presents new digital videos. The two artists have shared a studio for several years. They also share a sensual language of mark making with a focus on water as media and muse. Explore Kachemak Bay’s vast, ethereal waterscapes, places that are near yet remain elusive and enigmatic due to Alaska’s volatile weather. Islands rise like mirages from mist-shrouded shorelines, light bursts through translucent layers of color to create a mysterious sense of place. Investigate the tension between the solidity of paint, the realism of photography and the instability of form in fleeting light and motion. Watermark centers on artwork that hovers between pure abstraction and natural realism.

This exhibit is supported in part by Holland America Line, Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and City of Homer.

Faith Revell: Bird Dance

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April 3 – May 31, 2015
Opening reception: Friday, April 3, 5-7 p.m.
Artist’s Workshop: May 30, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. ($30)

Lesser Yellowlegs 24x24Bird Dance presents a confluence of birds in motion. Artist Faith Revell’s drawings and paintings exude a strong kinesthetic quality, are often gestural in nature, and focus on movement. These images will be paired with selected artifacts from the Pratt Museum’s natural history collection, as well as video and audio of birds in motion. Explore birds in motion through a variety of perspectives in Bird Dance.

Join Faith on May 30 for “Gesture and Form in Nature.” This workshop, geared toward adult and young adult artists, will start with a field session of outdoor observation and gestural drawing. After lunch, students will return to the museum for a gallery talk, additional drawing of mounted birds, and then move to a workshop space for final projects. Workshop space is limited. Please visit the link above for more information, and call the front desk to register and reserve your place.

This exhibit is supported in part by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and City of Homer.

Capital Update – April 2015

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As we move forward on the Capital Project and architectural work for the new Pratt Museum, the design and curatorial team are already at work developing exhibits to fill this exciting new space. We invite you to be a part of this process!

Over the next 18 months, the lower galleries will feature a series of prototype exhibits to invite your feedback. These are works in progress and need your input as we refine them into permanent installations.

Currently on display is “Community Connectors: Radios, Telephones and Pathways.” Please stop by and let us know what you think or if you can help contribute to the story.

Additionally, you can visit a new section of our website on the Master Exhibit Plan and see what we’re looking for right now—be it stories, artifacts, photographs, or information on materials in the Pratt’s collection. We’ll also use this area to post future public meetings and feedback sessions about the exhibit development process.

Thank you for being a part of the Pratt!

Jubilee: Festival of Young Artists

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April 3 – May 10, 2015
Opening reception: Friday, April 3, 5-7 p.m.

Birch Trees by Kaitlyn Johnson, West Homer Elementary, 2013.

The annual student art showcase will open in the lower level Art Gallery on April 3, in conjunction with the opening of Bird Dance. Come celebrate works of art in all media by area students from Kindergarten through High School.

Capital Update – March 2015

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CHAMP (Culture Humanities Arts Museums Partners) Advocacy Fly-In, January 28-29, 2015

Delegates from Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Humanities Forum, Museums Alaska and Alaska Historical Society met in Juneau on January 28 and 29, where they participated in advocacy training, gave a luncheon presentation at the capitol, and met with legislators.

Specific to museums, in 2014 a McDowell Group survey demonstrated critical infrastructure needs for Alaska’s cultural institutions. 27 museums cited the need for significant capital improvements within the next five years: exhibition space expansion or improvement; increase in facility size; collections storage expansion; and security improvements.

To address this need, the Museums Alaska delegation asked Representative Bob Herron to sponsor a bill to establish a Museum Construction, Expansion, and Major Renovation Matching Grant Program. This legislation, HB 52, mirrors an existing program for libraries, providing matching grants to those selected from the prioritized list of projects around the state, based on their readiness.

While in Juneau, 15 Museums Alaska advocates met with over 30 legislators and staff to educate them about the issues and gauge their support of the bill. Legislators were generally supportive of the concept, particularly because it carries a zero fiscal note. Senator Gary Stevens has filed a companion bill, SB 61. Please thank Representative Herron, rep.bob.herron@akleg.gov,and Senator Stevens sen.gary.stevens@akleg.gov, for their leadership in sponsoring the legislation.

Once the bill has been scheduled, public testimony will be taken and we will send an eblast as to time and date. Please contact Michele Miller, mmiller@prattmuseum.org, for more information.

Senator Stevens visited Homer Monday and Tuesday, March 9 and 10, at which time he briefed the Board members and staff on the state’s financial status. This year’s capital budget will be minimal in comparison to previous years. Only critical projects will be funded. It is unlikely that the Pratt will receive capital funds this year.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Brooks Fish

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Thirty Years of Counting Fish at Brooks Lake,
Katmai National Park and Preserve
February 1 – March 29, 2015Brooks lake fish racks 1940

The Bristol Bay Investigation’s temporary tent camp and fish weir established at the outlet of the Brooks River in 1940. Photographed by Robert Hacker. “Brooks Camp Interpretive Collection,” KATM Photo Archives, Records of Katmai National Park and Preserve, Anchorage, Alaska.“One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Brooks Fish” shows visitors how counting fish at the outlet of Brooks Lake helped develop the management methodology used to regulate one of the most important sockeye salmon fisheries in Alaska. Thanks in part to the scientist’s eye for detail, the composition of the photographs are compelling and engaging. Most importantly, this exhibit underscores the conclusion that salmon-pursuing human beings have been an integral force that have profoundly shaped the salmon resource since the Brooks River formed nearly 4,500 years ago. Contrary to most salmon and people stories, the fish runs of Bristol Bay remain healthy, they serve as the ecological engines for an entire ecosystem, and support an industry that employs a high number of Alaskans. Simply put, this is a resource management story Alaska got right.

Biologists find the perfect balance for photographing salmon near the weir site in July 1959. “Theodore Merrell Collection,” Records of Katmai National Park and Preserve, Anchorage, Alaska.

Curators Kathryn Myers (Katmai National Park and Preserve) and Katherine Ringsmuth (Anchorage Museum, formerly Katmai National Park and Preserve) will give a curators’ talk as part of the Pratt Museum Annual Meeting: Tuesday, February 3 at 6pm.

This exhibit is supported in part by Icicle Seafoods, Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and City of Homer. Developed in partnership with the National Park Service.

Free Admission during December

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mooseThanks to individual donors and the City of Homer, the Pratt Museum is offering complimentary admission throughout the month of December. Enjoy your community museum during the holiday season!