Juneau's Bob Banghart has been promoted from state museum curator of exhibitions, a post he started in 2007, to chief curator of museums for Alaska. "I've moved from downstairs to upstairs," Banghart said.
Story last updated at 11/6/2009 - 12:08 pm
Bob Banghart of Juneau has been named chief curator of the Alaska State Museums, Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux announced this week.
Banghart had been curator of exhibitions, responsible for the multi-level eagle tree at the entrance of the Alaska State Museum in Juneau and other exhibits.
In Banghart's new job, he will oversee exhibits at that museum, the state's Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, and traveling exhibitions, grant programs and technical assistance for other museums throughout the state.
Banghart went to work as curator of exhibitions at the Alaska State Museums in 2007, following 20 years with his own Juneau-based museum planning and design consulting firm. He has a bachelor's degree in art and design from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Banghart will supervise a permanent staff of 15, a seasonal summer staff and an operating budget of about $1.7 million, according to the state Division of Libraries, Archives & Museums.
Banghart said he's looking forward to working on a new unified campus in Juneau for state library, archives and museum institutions. The Legislature has appropriated $7.5 million for the SLAM project's planning and design. The new, expanded building would more fully serve statewide constituents and offer Juneau residents and visitors more exhibition and research space, Banghart said.
"All three of those institutions have a public face, and an obligation to the walk-in public, and the discussion now is about the best methodology to serve those needs," he said.
Meanwhile, the museum system has expanded its artistic and scientific reach by forming partnerships with institutions such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Alaska and the Juneau School District.
For example, at the system's Juneau museum, a 6-foot-diameter sphere donated by NOAA presents scientific information about the Earth and solar system. The Science on a Sphere exhibit uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data about the atmosphere, climate and the oceans.
"The sphere gives us a new method for orientation, putting Alaska into a circumpolar perspective for visitors," Banghart said.
The sphere also can be used to explore the geologic conditions that made for the peopling of Alaska, tying into Alaska Native oral history.
The state museum system continues to explore ways to share its in-house exhibitions with Alaska's schools and other public spaces, where local community members can add their artifacts, experiences and expertise, Banghart said.
"Our goal is to get people engaged in dialogue, and that (doesn't have) a boundary," Banghart said, "I view the museum as a platform for the delivery of information."
• Contact reporter Pat Forgeyat 523-2250 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
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