Final Call: See Two Arctic Museum Exhibits Before They Close
By Arctic Museum
Collections and Recollections is one of the inaugural exhibits on view since May, 2023, when the museum opened in its new home at the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies. Objects on view include old favorites, such as the enigmatic (and permanently sealed) letter to Donald MacMillan “To be opened when everything’s gone dead wrong,” along with new acquisitions on view for the first time. These include Martha Tickie’s elaborately beaded parka, donated to the museum by David and Barbara Roux in 2021. Also on view are a series of short videos assembled from the museum’s archive of Donald MacMillan’s films shot in the Arctic between 1921 and 1954, including scenes of musk ox and Labrador’s first snowmobile, a Model-T Ford equipped with skis, in operation.
Northern Nightmares opened in May, 2024, featuring contemporary and historic Inuit art from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Giants and monsters are frequent subjects for Inuit artists, who depict them with great imagination. Highlights include a series of carved Greenlandic tupilaks, terrifying creatures that have loomed large in people’s imaginations, and Canadian Inuit artist Victoria Mamnguksualuk’s vivid print of the very scary “Snakeman.”
Curator Genevieve LeMoine remarks “we’ve been very pleased with the public’s response to both exhibits. People have been fascinated by the stories behind our diverse collection of artworks, historic objects, and clothing in Collections and Recollections. Northern Nightmares highlights a topic often overlooked by museums and people are attracted to and intrigued by the monsters and their deeds. We will be sorry to see these exhibits close, but we have exciting new exhibits coming up, so stay tuned for those announcements.”
The Arctic Museum is located in the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies, at 10 Polar Loop on the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College campus. The museum is free and open 10 AM to 5 PM Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 – 5 PM Sunday. Closed Mondays and National Holidays. For more information go to /arctic-museum/index.html or call 207-725-3416.