Hal Spackman has over twenty ideas for more exhibits at the Sitka Historical Museum, but prefers ideas from the public. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)
The Past Inspires the Present will run through May 31st. The show features the work of 21 contemporary Sitka artists alongside historic pieces in the museum collection which served as inspiration.
Spackman told the Sitka Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that the idea came from local watercolor artist Norm Campbell, who offered to coordinate the show.
Spackman said he was impressed by the quality of local work that has been contributed to the exhibit, and by the amount of talent in the community.
He took a phone call during his chamber presentation proving that there are some Sitka-artist wannabes out there in the larger world of art.
Andy Warhol, who died in 1987, was a little too late for tonight’s opening. (AP Photo)
Spackman — Hello? Andy who? Warhol? I’m kind of in the middle of something here. Yeah, it’s a pretty cool event. Yessir, Mr. Warhol, there’ll be some really great works there. Well, there’s nothing you can do from up there? Well, I just appreciate you calling me. (To audience) Sorry. Have to take a few calls there…
The opening Gala at Harrigan Centennial Hall will feature a silent auction and dinner. (Tickets $35.)
Spackman told the Chamber that the exhibit is the first in a series planned for the museum. Coming up next in June will be The Coast Guard: Honoring our Heroes. In October, the museum will install A Sportsman’s Paradise: Walking the Trails of the Past. And next February — Sitka’s Stories: A Community Remembers.
Spackman, who last worked in Sitka as the superintendent of Mt. Edgecumbe High School, put up a list of over twenty more ideas for exhibits. “I came up with these on my own,” he told the audience, “but I’d like to hear from you.”
Spackman said he was especially interested in ideas for temporary exhibits in the outdoor area, known affectionately as “The OK Corral,” alongside Harrigan Centennial Hall, where the new Historical Museum will one day be built. He expected that the new facility would be opened in 2017.
