Janine Gibbons in the Artist Studio
Date & Time
Saturday, October 24, 2026
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
This event is in the past.
Tickets
Included with admission;
FREE for Burke members
Not a member? Join today.
Janine Gibbons will be designing a Northwest Coast totem pole based on sketches and observations of belongings and cultural materials studied in the Burke Museum’s collections. Alongside a master Haida carver, Janine will demonstrate the foundations of Northwest Coast formline design and show how cultural research, ancestral knowledge, storytelling, and visual details found in historic pieces can inform a contemporary pole design.
Janine plans to share her design process through sketches and works in progress while speaking with visitors about Haida formline, crest imagery, and the flood story connected to the design. She will also display original artwork from We Are Who We Are, written by Wab Kinew and illustrated by Janine, in recognition of the French edition being released on October 20, 2026.
Visitors will be able to watch the design develop throughout the day and ask questions about the foundations of Northwest Coast formline.
About the Artist
Janine Gibbons is a multidisciplinary, award-winning Alaskan artist of Haida descent. Born in Ketchikan, Alaska in 1977, she is a member of the Yahgulaanas Raven Clan. Her primary crests include Grizzly Bear, Dogfish, Double-Fin Killer Whale, and Berry Picker in the Moon.
Janine’s work is deeply rooted in the waters and lands of the Pacific, drawing from their shifting colors, energies, and languages. Her practice spans illustration, design, jewelry, and cultural storytelling, often bridging ancestral knowledge with contemporary form.
Her most recent work includes illustrating We Are Who We Are (2026), written by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and published by Tundra Books / Penguin Random House, expanding her reach to international audiences.
She has illustrated multiple titles for Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Baby Raven Reads series, including Raven Makes the Aleutians, an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book, The Woman Carried Away by Killer Whales, The Woman Who Married the Bear, and Nang Jáadaa Sg̱áana ‘Láanaa aa Isdáayaan, published entirely in the Haida language, Xaad Kíl. She is currently working on two additional titles with Sealaska Heritage Institute.
Learn more about Janine Gibbons and her work on her website.
