Alison Bremner is honored to have received a 2015 Spring Native Arts Grant from Potlatch Fund.
The Tlingit culture is a visual culture. Prior to contact, an individuals crest told you who they were and their clan’s history for thousands of years back. Art was not simply decorative; it was essential to identity. Due to an all to familiar history of colonization, removalism and westernization, the presence of art has greatly diminished in Yakutat. Yakutat’s ancient art can still be seen in museums across the world.
With the assistance of the grant, Bremner will apprentice with Tsimshian master carver David Albert Boxley for a period of two months to learn traditional mask making. At the end of the two months, Bremner will replicate an old Yakutat mask. The mask will be brought home to Yakutat for public display, and will be gifted to the community.
Gunalchéesh Potlatch Fund and David Albert Boxley!