51st Annual Meeting
Anchorage, Alaska

Location

 

The 51st annual meeting of the Western Association for Art Conservation will be held at the Anchorage Museum in downtown Anchorage. A short walk to restaurants, hotels, public art, and museums such as the Alaska Veterans Museum and Alaska Law Enforcement Museum.

 

The Anchorage Museum sits on the traditional homeland of the Eklutna Dena’ina and is committed to recognizing and honoring the land, culture and language of the Dena’ina people. The Anchorage Museum tells the story of Alaska and the North – a story that weaves together social, political, cultural, scientific, historic and artistic threads. Explore the full diversity of Alaska Native cultures, including masterworks of Alaska Native art and design from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Get hands-on in the science-themed Discovery Center, and experience the night sky, including the aurora borealis, in the Thomas Planetarium.

 

Meeting Overview At-A-Glance

(see details on tours and workshops below)

 

Wednesday, September 17

 

Community Outreach: Native Village of Chickaloon, Wasilla Museum, Alaska Native Heritage Center (tbd start time, return to downtown by 2:30pm)

 

Workshops: Salmon skin sewing with Rochelle Adams (10am – 12pm), Baling Strap basket weaving (10am-2pm)

 

Tour: Eklutna Village and Dena’ina Placenames Project (3-6pm, included with registration)

 

Pre-conference social (6:30-8:30pm) No host bar/food

• Meet at Bernie’s Bungalow Lounge to say hello, drink, eat and socialize. If weather cooperates, meet outside. If not, see you inside!

 

Thursday September 18

 

Conference presentations (8:30am – 5:30pm)

Evening reception at Anchorage Museum (6-8:30pm, included with registration)

 

Friday September 19

 

Conference presentations (8:30am – 2:45pm)

Tour: Alaska Native Heritage Center (3-5pm)

 

Saturday September 20

 

Tour: Wildlife cruise and Turnagain Arm (8am-8pm)

 

 

Tours-Workshops-Events Descriptions

 

Wednesday September 17

 

Community Outreach (transportation and lunch provided)

• ​Native Village of Chickaloon (Specialty needed: 1 objects/textile and 1 photograph)

Nay’dini’aa Na’Kayax (Chickaloon Village Traditional Council) is hoping to have a hide specialist clean a clan grandmother’s moosehide shawl and Gary Harrison’s moosehide vest. Chief Gary Harrison is the Traditional Chief and Chairman of the council. Both garments are used in ceremonies and are in need of care. In addition, they have a large tub of photographs that need care and rehousing. Chickaloon Native Village, Nay’dini’aa Na’, in Ahtna, meaning “the river with the two logs across it”, is a vibrant, innovative, and culturally rich Ahtna Dene Tribe located in Sutton, about a 90 minute drive north of Anchorage. The items will be brought to the Anchorage Museum for treatment.

 

• Wasilla Museum (Specialty needed: 2 objects, 2 architectural/building, 1 paper)

The Wasilla Museum consists of 11 historic structures, including two on the National Register of Historic Places. They are hoping to have conservators assist with returning a wardrobe trunk containing a few textiles to display, cleaning of grass basketry, and/or providing practical care guidelines for their historic buildings. They also are coordinating the care and assessment of a handwritten mining claim signed and buried in Hatcher Pass, a mining area in the Wasilla area. Wasilla Museum is about a 60 minute drive north of Anchorage.

 

• Alaska Native Heritage Center (Specialty needed: limit 3 any specialty)

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a vibrant living cultural center where you can discover traditions, languages, and arts of Alaska Native cultures through live cultural programming and exhibitions. They care for a wide variety of cultural heritage items. They are willing to find small conservation/care projects for any specialty. The center is about a 15 minute drive from downtown.

 

Workshop: Salmon Skin Sewing (10am-12:30pm, Anchorage Museum) $50

         Join artist and activist Rochelle Adams and her daughter Amaya for a class on salmon skin sewing. They will share the importance of salmon to the Gwich’in and how to sew fish skin. In this workshop you will learn to sew salmon skin and beading, creating a pair of earrings or a key chain. Materials provided.

         Rochelle (Gwich’in) is from the villages of Beaver and Fort Yukon along the Yukon River in Alaska. She continues the tradition of stewardship and reciprocity with her three children. Adams attended the Institute of American Indian Arts, and received her BA from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, focusing on Native Art and Native Language. Her most valued education comes from the traditional teachings of her family, community, and homeland. She is a learner and educator of her Native language of Gwich’in. Cultural art roots her and brings her forward in her language journey.

 

Workshop: Baling Strap Basket Weaving (10am-2pm, Seed Lab) $25

           Since 2012, Hawai'i-based artist Gaye Chan has foraged plastic baling straps and developed a weaving technique to make containers while learning a basic skill practiced around the globe: basket making. Join us for a basket-making workshop led by Museum staff member Rebecca Pottebaum trained in Chan’s technique.

           A common scrap of global capitalism, baling straps are found around nearly every box shipped across the globe. Plastic straps secure everything from reams of paper to enormous pallets transported between continents. These seemingly small straps create a tremendous amount of plastic waste, especially in places like Hawai'i and Alaska, and only a tiny fraction is recycled. Chan’s basketmaking practice extends the life of an otherwise single-use material through craft and skill sharing. Create in community with others as you make your own waterproof basket to take home. Materials provided.

 

Tour: Eklutna Village and Dena’ina Placenames Project (3-6pm) Limited space, included with registration until filled.

              Hop on the conference coach, for a tour introducing the Indigenous Place Names Project and visit the village of Eklutna. Eklutna is an Alaska Native village that is within the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage. The area is known for its iconic cemetery, which blends Dena’ina and Russian Orthodox traditions. The Indigenous Place Names project is a community effort to amplify the identity of Dena’ina residents, and to transform Anchorage’s built environment to reflect the breadth and complexity of American stories.

              Aaron Leggett will lead the tour. He was born in Anchorage and is Dena’ina. He currently serves as the President/Chief of the Native Village of Eklutna. Aaron is also Senior Curator of Alaska History and Culture at the Anchorage Museum and serves as an advisor to the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center.

 

Thursday September 18

 

Evening reception/WAAC Party at Muse in Anchorage Museum (6-8:30pm) Food and one drink included with registration

Join your fellow WAAC attendees for an evening of fun. Sign up to view a planetarium show to kick off your evening, or check out the permanent galleries before going to the Muse restaurant for heavy appetizers and drinks.

Planetarium show, A Place Like No Other: Take a journey to the remote wild places of Alaska to observe the iconic animals and landscapes that define the state. Meet Alaskans who seek to understand the impacts of climate change on these dynamic ecosystems and strive to protect an enduring way of life.

 

Friday September 19

 

Alaska Native Heritage Center tour (3:30-5pm) $10 + transportation

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a vibrant living cultural center where you can discover traditions, languages, and arts of Alaska Native cultures through live cultural programming and exhibitions. Learn from dynamic newly opened (May 2025) exhibits in the Hall of Cultures, including historic boarding school exhibit Education in Alaska, Nats’itsatna (Our Ancestors) exhibit featuring cultural belongings that were removed without consent and are part of the movement to ethically return Ancestral belongings to their homelands, and Dena’ina Quht’ana (Our Local People of a Place) exhibit. Transportation costs will depend on the number of people who sign up on the tour.

 

Saturday September 20

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Wildlife and Turnagain Arm tour (8am-8pm) $220 (estimated)

Hop on a bus with Adam Baldwin, Deputy Director for Visitor Engagement, citizen historian, and extraordinary tour guide. As you travel along the coast south, learn about the history of region along with local interesting facts. Once in Seward, board a 4-hour wildlife cruise with Major Marine Tours. See wildlife such as orca whales, humpback whales, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, puffins, eagles, and many seabirds. You will also see glaciers and the changing coastal landscape. After a quick tour through Seward, drive back to Anchorage.

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Arrival

Arrival Instructions

• Please use the staff entrance to enter the Museum. The doors are located on 7th Avenue, close to A Street. The far right door has a door “bell” and speaker. Please let security know you are here for the WAAC conference. Once you hear the click, pull on the door to enter.

• Once you enter the building, you will see the registration table and staff who can point you to the auditorium.

• For events at Seed Lab, it is located behind the museum, on 6th Avenue and A Street. The entrance is on 6th Avenue. It can be reached by walking around the museum.

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Parking & Drop-Off

• The best drop-off location for rideshare is on 7th Avenue, closer to A Street, near the owl mosaic and red sculpture.

• Public parking within two blocks of the museum:

  • 5th Avenue Garage, entrance at 5th Avenue and B Street

  • JC Penney Garage, entrance at 6th Avenue and E Street

  • Pay lot at 6th Avenue and A Street, entrance on 6th Avenue

  • Pay lot at 6th Avenue and B Street, entrance on B Street

  • Pay lot at 7th Avenue and C Street, entrance on 7th Avenue

  • Public parking is available in the museum’s underground garage evenings and weekends, with designated parking for people with disabilities available anytime.

 

 

Where to stay?

 

We have secured a discounted rate at the Historic Anchorage Hotel, a luxury hotel in Anchorage established in 1916, which now serves as a classic example of Anchorage’s rich heritage and commitment to preservation. The hotel has a fitness center, business center, on-site gift shop, and complimentary full breakfast buffet. It is in the heart of downtown, close to the coastal trail and Ship Creek, two areas that you will want to explore!

 

The Room Rate is $189 for a Deluxe Double Room, with code VOCA25.

 

Other lodging options: There are many hotels and private rentals in downtown Anchorage, for shared lodging or larger room needs.

 

Where to go, How to get there and What to do?

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Airport

Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC). Taxis, Lyft/Uber, and city bus can bring you downtown.

 

Dining

Boxed lunches will be available to order. There are a number of restaurants within walking distance of the museum. Here is a list of some options for meals.  

 

Websites that will help plan your trip:

• Visit Anchorage is specifically designed for visiting Anchorage, well organized and easy to navigate: https://www.anchorage.net/,

• Travel Alaska is for the entire state, and has good ideas in “Things to Do”, as well as descriptions based on types of activities:  www.travelalaska.com

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Museums and Culture

 

Alaska Aviation Museum, 4721 Aircraft Dr, Anchorage

Alaska Botanical Garden, 4601 Campbell Airstrip Rd, Anchorage

Alaska Jewish Museum, 1221 E. 35th Avenue, Anchorage

Alaska Law Enforcement Museum, 245 W. 5th Ave Ste 112, Anchorage

Alaska Native Heritage Center, 8800 Heritage Center Dr, Anchorage

Alaska Veterans Museum, 411 W. 4th Avenue, Anchorage

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Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, 43520 Seward Hwy, Girdwood

The Roundhouse at Alyeska Museum, Top of Tram at Mt. Alyeska, Girdwood

Musk Ox Farm, 12850 E. Archie Rd, Palmer

Palmer Museum of History and Art, 723 S Valley Way, Palmer

Reindeer Farm, 5561 Bodenburg Loop, Palmer

Wasilla Museum and Visitor Center, 391 N. Main Street, Wasilla

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Galleries and Gifts

Georgia Blue Gallery, 3555 Arctic Blvd, Anchorage

International Gallery of Contemporary Art, 427 D Street, Anchorage

Cabin Fever Fabric, Fiber & Gifts, 412 G Street, Anchorage

Museum Store, Anchorage Museum

Ch'k'iqadi Gallery, Alaska Native Heritage Center

               

Sponsors

 

WAAC is currently seeking sponsors for the meeting, please consider becoming a sponsor!

Email Monica Shah at mshah@anchoragemuseum.org if interested.

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