Traditional Native Alaska art forms were originally taught through apprenticeships in which a young carver or weaver worked for years with an elder who had mastered the form.

When the board of trustees for the Sealaska Heritage Institute recognized this practice had faded, and the many rules associated with making art were not being followed, the board decided to emphasize traditional art forms by adding a juried art show to Celebration.

"Our art just really wasn't developing the way we thought it should," said SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D. "We needed to figure out how to replace the master-apprentice system but there really was no place to learn it."

But things have changed and the standards were raised.

Anna Ehlers is a renowned Chilkat blanket weaver who learned the form nearly 30 years ago and now apprentices others. Several of her pieces will be displayed during the show in Juneau.

"I had a real sense of wonderment the very first time I saw a Chilkat blanket, these beautiful textiles being worn in traditional ceremonies," Ehlers said. "As far back as I can remember, I wanted to make one."

She learned to collect the materials - yellow cedar bark and mountain goat hair - in Ketchikan and was taught some of the weaving techniques by her sister-in-law, Dorica Jackson.

Ehlers' work is now displayed in museums around the United States and in Canada. This spring, she worked with an apprentice in Anchorage to restore a 120-year-old Chilkat blanket that was to be displayed during Celebration 2008.

"I feel like it's a sacred honor to be able to create this textile," she said. "And I feel like it's my duty to teach the art form."

Ehlers said she participates in the juried art show because it's an opportunity to share the artwork with the world.

She is one of 27 artists who submitted a total of 54 pieces that were judged with slides and photographs this spring by juror Steve Brown.

Brown was formerly an associate curator at the Seattle Art Museum and is the author of several books on Northwest Coast art.

In addition to traditional art forms, the show highlights contemporary art as well.

"Initially, our traditional artists did not want to have contemporary art, but you can't legislate culture or cultural change," Worl said. "We saw a lot of our young artists doing contemporary art."

The two categories - traditional and contemporary - are judged separately.

Awards for the art show total $7,500 for best of show and first through third places in both categories.

Winners of the competition will be announced at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, in the Juneau Arts & Cultural Center. An exhibition opens that day and runs until June 27.

• Kim Marquis can be reached at kim.marquis@juneauempire.com