Communities, Disaster and Change an exhibition at Coos Art Museum, July 10

Coos Art Museum presents, Communities, Disaster and Change a traveling exhibition of contemporary Alaskan art organized by the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive, in Valdez, Alaska. The exhibition runs from July 11 through September 26 in the Museum’s Mabel Hansen Gallery. Framed by the 50th anniversary of the devastating Good Friday Earthquake that struck Alaska on March 27, 1964, the exhibit features 28 of Alaska’s finest artists from around the state. Each of the artists has submitted one artwork that address how natural disasters have affected their communities and how these communities have responded to such challenges. The Good Friday Earthquake was the largest-ever recorded earthquake in North America and the second-largest ever recorded in the world. As stated in the exhibition catalog, “Communities, Disaster, and Change provides a twist on the fiftieth anniversary of the Good Friday Earthquake Commemoration through its connection with other communities and other disasters.” The exhibitions scope focuses on the themes of perseverance, loss, community and memory not only as a result of this natural disaster but more broadly it speaks to universal experiences and qualities understood by people everywhere. This exhibit was made possible by contributions from the Western States Arts Federation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Valdez, the Alaska State Council of the Arts, the Rasmuson Foundation, and the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.