In this special spotlight episode, we catch up with Angela Linn, UAMN Senior Collections Manager for Ethnology and History as she led the decoration of the museum’s holiday tree with ornaments donated to the museum by Grace Berg Schaible.
The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.
In this special spotlight episode, we catch up with Angela Linn, UAMN Senior Collections Manager for Ethnology and History as she led the decoration of the museum’s holiday tree with ornaments donated to the museum by Grace Berg Schaible.
The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.
Roger Topp:
Hello, and welcome to The More You Look, Up Close, a short, unscheduled stop on your behind-the-scenes journey into museum collections, research, exhibits, and public programming. I'm Roger Topp, director of exhibits, design, and digital media at the UA Museum of the North and today’s host. Today, we catch up with Angela Linn, UAMN Senior Collections Manager for Ethnology and History as she leads the decoration of the museum’s holiday tree.
Angela Linn:
So this morning, we are decorating our museum holiday tree that goes up in the lobby every year. And since 2017, we have had the pleasure of using Grace Schaible's polar bear ornament collection, which came in as part of her larger art collection that she donated to the museum. Grace Schaible was our first female Attorney General. She has been a significant supporter for the university over the years. But what Grace was really known for was her love of polar bears and polar bear art. And so, this was something that was one of her more fun collections. She kept a Christmas tree up in her in her home year round. And it was the most heavily decorated tree I've ever seen. And when she made that, that bigger donation to the museum of her art collection, the ornament collection was something that we wanted to be able to share with the community, because it was something that she really loved, and expressed, sort of, the lighter side of her her love of polar bears. Find that one?
Mallory Gulbranson:
No, but I see the owl.
Angela Linn:
This collection is--it is catalogued within a spreadsheet. Every ornament has its unique catalog number like every good museum collection. But this is what we consider a--sort of a hands-on collection. And so we bring it out every year. We hang it on the tree. Some things fall and get broken, and that's okay. We record it. We have photographs of everything when they came in. So it's just a really lovely way for us to honor, you know, Grace's love and support of arts in Fairbanks and the museum more broadly, and longterm. And, you know, let people know that this is a way that we like to commemorate the season. This is a collection of about, I think, over 300 individual ornaments. And these are stored in the actual boxes that she stored them in. There are these wonderful, holiday decorated boxes with two tiers. And each layer has nine compartments. And within each one of those compartments are little Ziploc bags with catalog numbers and individual ornaments inside.
Mallory Gulbranson:
I do have a favorite. It's this little cross-stitch pillow. It's one of the only non polar bears.
Roger Topp:
I don't decorate the tree at my house. My kids do it, the same at your house, right? And it tends to get decorated the same way every year. Because this one goes here. That one goes there. Since you've been decorating this tree for a number of years now, do you have a pattern? Do you have a favorite object?
Angela Linn:
Not at all. There's no pattern at all? I would say yeah, I mean, probably at least half of them don't make it out. Some of these are--many of them are duplicates too. So like I've already put that one out. There's another one up there. After decorating the tree for, well, since 2017. I don't have a pattern that I that I use for placing the ornaments. Generally we do this as a--as a group. You know we invite everybody from the staff who might want to show up and join in the frivolity, and so everybody just grabs at them. I have them laid out here on the bench in the lobby and people--as long as they put the ziplock bag back where they got it. That's the most important thing. We just yeah, we just let people put what they want out. There are a few that that I look forward to seeing every year. There are fun that are--some that are really cute and fun, some that are beautiful and kind of more serious, some that I dread putting on because some of them are these enormous glass balls that are very delicate. But yeah, I think it's just--I haven't developed any particular favorites or any-- I like to put the museum one on the front. But aside from that, I think it's just fun to lay them out and let people enjoy the variation that show up. We're in the finding the holes phase now. The tree will be in the lobby at the museum until past the new year, I think. And we have a little sign up with a QR code so you can learn more about Grace and her polar bear art collection. And yeah, we'd love it if the community comes in and and takes some pictures, selfies, tag the museum with some of their favorite Schaible ornaments.
Roger Topp:
Thanks, Angie.
Angela Linn:
Sure.
Roger Topp:
The more you look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dene people of the Lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples. Thank you for listening. Please subscribe and share and rate the program. This helps other listeners discover more about not only the work of this museum, but quite possibly other museums in their neighborhoods. The more you look, the more you find.