Profile of an Alaskan Artist: Crystal Worl (Rewind)

Crystal Worl earned a BFA and AFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her education also includes Pilchuck Glass, Kiln-Formed Glass and Public Art. She completed a residency at the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Juneau and Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. She is the recipient of several awards, including Koahnic Broadcast Station- Emerging Artist, Alaska Native Artist Spotlight and Alaska Federation of Natives, Lu Young Youth Leadership Award. Select exhibitions include the JuneauDouglas Museum; Ketchikan Museum; and IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Art, Santa Fe. Her work is held in the collections of the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh; Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle; and Pratt Museum, Homer. Crystal has several public art installations in Alaska including a design on the side of an Juneau’s Capitol City Fire Rescue ambulance, a steal cut medallion installed downtown Juneau, and most recently a 60 foot by 25 foot mural of Tlingit activist Elizabeth Peratrovich on Juneau’s downtown library building. Today Crystal lives in Juneau, Alaska working as a co-owner and co-designer of Trickster Company with her brother Rico Worl. Trickster Company promotes innovative indigenous design focused on the Northwest Coast art and exploration of themes and issues in Native culture. (www.trickstercompany.com) Crystal is currently serving a 5-year seat on Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Native Artist Committee. She is one of six highly qualified advisors to review programs and provide guidance on the institute’s art projects and mission to elevate Juneau to a Northwest Coast arts capitol. About the moderator: Sarah Asper-Smith established ExhibitAK in 2010 after years of working independently and collaboratively as a curator, exhibit designer, and graphic designer in museums in different parts of Alaska. A lifelong Juneauite, Sarah came back to Alaska after receiving her MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning and Design because she saw a need for Alaskans to help tell Alaskan stories. This has included working on: co-curatorial exhibit development for the Alaska State Museum in Juneau; multiple traveling exhibitions to rural Alaska with the Katirvik Cultural Center; exhibition design and rebranding for the Kodiak History Museum; and the traveling exhibit Illustrating Alaska; Artists Making Children’s Books. In addition to her museum exhibition design work, Sarah has written four children’s books, Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?, I Would Tuck You In, You Are Home With Me, and I Would Teach You to Fly. She and her husband make their home up 100 stairs in downtown Juneau. When she’s not cooking a delicious meal or walking the beaches with her dog, she can often be found working at her long dining table.