09/30/2026
“We laugh because we live here or because we lived through what this place puts us through. We laugh at each other because we love each other. There is a power to humor. Alaska is full of endless expressions of joy intended to make people laugh. Whether funny or subversive, humor is an important part of who we are as Alaskans. Humor is an Alaskan language, and this exhibition considers the many expressions of that language.”
—John Hagen, Curator of Indigenous Art and Initiatives
All good jokes need an ending. For nearly two years, "Tricksters and Sourdoughs: Humor and Identity in Alaska" has considered that Alaskan language of humor and the ways we use it to cope, connect and make sense of life here. Contemporary artwork, cartoons, postcards, films, memes and pop culture give us plenty to laugh about and think about.
The exhibition closes Oct. 4, which means this Friday is your last First Friday to see it. Come get one last laugh in before it closes.
🖼️:
1. Doris Rhodes Slides, Anchorage Museum, B1993.20.527
2. Dan DeRoux, Mt. McKinley as seen from the Grand Canal Rialto Bridge, 1982, Anchorage Museum, 1982.75.1, photo by Chris Arend
4. Alaska State Bird (Skeeter Horribilis) postcard, 1982. [The note on the back of this card reads: “We met this ‘bird,’ on our Mt. McKinley trip. The whole trip was a disappointment—not the least as advertised. To top it off, our room had a hole in it and the mosquitoes came in in droves all night long. The help could care less and had no intention of doing anything about the mosquitoes. I am covered with welts from the mosquito bites. My forehead looks like the foothill of Alaska mountains.”]
