ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – A digital exhibition of latest works by multi-disciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) titled “Created to Hold Power (Intellectual Property)” debuts online at the Anchorage Museum Friday, May 1.

Created to Hold Power (Intellectual Property) humanizes our collective connection to how Indigenous intellectual property is used and honors the cultural continuum of this knowledge, creativity and innovation. The multiple components of the exhibition, which include photography, audio, video, sculpture and painting, verify how society allows the ongoing colonial consumption of Indigenous land, bodies, languages and cultural objects without full engagement with them. The exhibition challenges institutional authority and practices through abstraction, warning, escape, celebration and linguistic limitation, while declaring the continued presence, knowledge and value of Indigenous people

Galanin talks about the exhibition in a Facebook live event via the Anchorage Museum’s Facebook page at 6 p.m. Friday, May 1.

Created to Hold Power (Intellectual Property) contains three components:

• Fair Warning, a Sacred Place, photo and audio series that Galanin says document “empty museum cabinets created to hold Indigenous power for captive display. These non-Indigenous institutions do not belong to this power, and this power does not belong to them”
• (Intellectual Property), a photo series titled by Galanin to “humanize our connection to the uses of our intellectual property and honor the cultural continuum of this knowledge, creativity and innovation.”
• Architecture of Return, a map painted on deer hide that plots an escape route for Indigenous objects held in the collection of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Based in Sitka, Alaska, Galanin’s work offers perspective rooted in connection to land and an intentionally broad engagement with contemporary culture. He apprenticed with master carvers and jewelry makers, earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from London Guildhall University and Master of Fine Art degree from Massey University (New Zealand). Articles about Galanin’s work include:

• ARTnews: Ancient to the Future: Nicholas Galanin Aims to Change How Indigenous Art Is Understood
• Indian Country Today: Exploring the Artistic Worlds of Nicholas Galanin
• Hyperallergic: Nicholas Galanin Is Part of a Generation That Is Redefining “Native”

ABOUT THE ANCHORAGE MUSEUM

The largest museum in Alaska, the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center tells the true story of the North by connecting people, expanding perspectives and encouraging global dialogue about the North and its distinct environment. Learn more at anchoragemuseum.org.