For Immediate Release
March 16, 2022
Opening at the Alaska State Museum on April 1, 4:30 – 6:30 pm
Lecture with Mug Up project leader and Alaska’s state historian Katherine Ringsmuth, 6:30 pm in the APK Lecture Hall
I feel the pull of water; from now on we will live largely by its schedule, the rhythm it sets. “Tide.” The very word derives from the Old English for “time.”
— Nancy Lord, Fishcamp
Cannery workers gather on the Diamond NN Cannery dock for a “mug up” in ca. 1976. Mug Up or coffee break gave cannery workers a 15-minute reprieve from the monotony of slime line work and canning machines. Photograph by Mike Rann.
Juneau – Entitled “Mug Up” after the cannery term for a coffee break, the exhibition shares stories of Alaska’s cannery crews and showcases artifacts from the canned salmon industry through the lens of the Alaska Packers Association’s <NN> (Diamond NN) Cannery, located on the Naknek River in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Underpinning the Mug Up exhibition is the larger theme that Alaska canneries’ 15-minute ‘mug ups’ brought together diverse cannery workers who provided essential labor and created a unique social milieu within the cannery workscape.
Mug Up is a journey through a typical salmon cannery, building-by-building, using each space to spotlight the labor and social history behind one of Alaska’s most significant industries. Rather than machines, Mug Up is about people whose stories, until now, were sheltered in the shadows of history.
The Mug Up exhibition is presented in three sections: "Storied Salmon," "Working Waterfront," and "Cannery Community." From the slime-liners (slimers) to the superintendent, these stories collectively represent the workforce that brought the Industrial Revolution to the North.
Matthew Burtner composed the soundscape. Filmmakers include Jensen Hall Creative, Anna Hoover, and Sharon Thompson. Both the soundscape and exhibit films were produced by the NN Cannery History Project.
The exhibition will open on April 1 at 4:30 pm. At 6:30 pm state historian and Mug Up project leader, Katie Ringsmuth, will give a lecture in the APK Lecture Hall. Mug Up will be on exhibit at the Alaska State Museum April 1 - October 8, 2022.
The Alaska State Museum hosts a spectacular permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions and is currently open on reduced winter hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10-4. Discounted winter admission is $9 per adult, people 18 and under are admitted free. The museum phone number is (907) 465-2901, and the website for more information is www.museums.alaska.gov.
A person experiencing a disability who needs accommodation for events hosted by the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum can contact the Division’s ADA coordinator at (907) 465-2912. Please allow a week in advance so we can make any necessary arrangements.
Media Contact:
Patience Frederiksen
Director, Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums
907.465.2911
patience.frederiksen@alaska.gov
lam.alaska.gov
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