SHI TO HOLD FIRST-EVER CONTEST FOR CELEBRATION 2022 DESIGN

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) for the first time will hold a contest to solicit a design for Celebration, a biennial dance-and-culture festival that celebrates Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.

SHI is seeking a Northwest Coast art design that depicts the theme: Celebration 2022: Celebrating 10,000 Years of Cultural Survival.

The year 2022 also marks the 40th anniversary of the event, which was first held to celebrate that the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures had survived an era of terrible oppression when missionaries tried in vain to stamp out the Native way of life and world view.

“We survived a period of oppression, we survived the 1918 pandemic, we will survive the COVID-19 pandemic, and our ancient cultures will continue to thrive and to flourish,” said SHI President Rosita Worl.

“We’d like to see a design that conceptualizes that.”

The winning artist will receive $1,000 and the design will appear on materials, including t-shirts and a program, associated with the event, which is one of the largest Native gatherings in the state, drawing thousands of people to Juneau every even year.

The deadline to apply is July 22, 2021. Note: The deadline was extended because previous posts had the year wrong. Celebration 2022 is scheduled June 8-11, 2022. Celebration 2022 will feature two lead dance groups, both of Wrangell: Shx’at Kw├ían (People Near the Mainland) and Kaasitlaan Dancers). 

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Amy Fletcher, SHI Media and Publications Director, 907.586.9116, amy.fletcher@sealaska.com

Photo: Celebration 2006, Mt. Saint Elias Dancers, by Bill Hess. Note: media outlets are welcome to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher resolution image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com