Statewide Services for Alaska Museums

The Alaska State Museum is partnering with the Alaska State Historic Preservation Office to offer a new grant opportunity for museums, cultural heritage organizations, and others, to apply for grants to support Maritime Heritage projects and share information about Alaska’s Maritime Heritage.

Grants start at $5,000 and must be matched by the applicant, either by in-kind effort or spending actual funds on their project. Applicants will need to outline how they’ll offer programming or lectures or lessons to the public. Grant activities should take place in 2024-February 2025. 

Learn more about the Alaska Maritime Heritage Preservation Program.

• We provide assessments and consult on many aspects of museum operations. 
• Conservation resources
• Annual trainings through in-person and at-a-distance workshops
• Designation of Natural and Cultural History Repositories

AHEN Listserv

The Alaska Heritage Emergency Network (AHEN) listserv is a newly-formed network of cultural heritage institutions, professional organizations, and emergency response agencies, established to address cultural heritage needs before, during, and after a disaster. It costs nothing to join, and we welcome you to join the listserv to learn more.  

Through an ongoing effort of open communication and collaboration, Alaska's cultural heritage community will build capacity across Alaska to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies. AHEN was created in 2022 through an initiative of the Alaska State Museums, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM), and other Alaskan cultural organizations to provide a forum where information sharing and analysis can be supported. AHEN works to integrate cultural heritage institutions with collections and other interested organizations into existing government-led emergency efforts and acts as an information-sharing group.

KTOO Interview: The Alaska Heritage Emergency Network empowers Alaska’s Cultural Heritage community (August 30, 2023)

Identifying Cultural Heritage Facilities at a glance

Navigable Map of Cultural Heritage Facilities
This is a map of cultural organizations in the US, including Alaska. It provides an easily-accessible visual representation of heritage facilities with collections. Developed by interdisciplinary staff at Louisiana State University and Arizona State University, and underwritten with a substantial grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, it provides a way to quickly identify entities that may experience potential impacts in regions facing natural disasters or other large area-specific emergencies.

From LSU's Project on Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums, which uses GIS (geographic information system) analysis, through collaborative work by academic faculty, doctoral students and "GLAM" practitioners, and is developing a prioritized research agenda to address challenges.