Artist talk by Lily Hope + Sydney Akagi

Join us for an in-depth talk with Lily Hope and Sydney Akagi as they discuss the museum’s commission of a Chilkat dancing blanket and their art practice. Together, they share more about the Chilkat style of weaving and their personal work. This lecture will be recorded and available to watch on this web page after the event. About the artists Lily Hope (b. 1980) was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. She is Tlingit, of the Raven moiety, of her grandmother’s clan, the T’akdeintaan. She learned Ravenstail weaving from her late mother, Clarissa Rizal, and Kay Field Parker. She also apprenticed for over a decade in Chilkat weaving with Rizal, who was one of the last living apprentices of the late master Chilkat weaver Jennie Thlunaut. She’s committed to co-creating, and teaching the technical and spiritual practices in these two premiere finger-twined textiles. She spearheads multicommunity volunteer weaver projects, including Weaving Our Pride. Sydney Akagi (Tlingit) is a Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver working at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems, contemporary form, and environmental advocacy. Rooted in Lingít Aaní (Southeast Alaska), Akagi’s work is informed by an ongoing relationship to the Taku River and its salmon systems. Recent bodies of work explore the presence of the human figure within Chilkat structure, incorporating elements such as adornment, tattoo, and mark-making to consider identity, transformation, and the visibility of Indigenous bodies across