VMHA Welcomes New Curator of Collections

VMHA Welcomes New Curator of Collections

Valdez, Alaska, September 12, 2022 – Last month Andrew Goldstein, long-time Curator of Collections & Exhibitions for the Valdez Museum & Historical Archive, moved on to become Curator at the University of New Hampshire Museum of Art in Durham, NH. Andrew’s work has been much appreciated during his 16-year tenure at the Valdez Museum, and his video explorations of the VMHA Collections through weekly Facebook Live broadcasts of Tales From the Archive have collected fans from around the country.

After bidding farewell and safe travels to Andrew and his family, the Board and Staff of the VMHA now welcome our new Curator of Collections & Exhibitions, Caren Oberg. Caren, her husband Carl and their dog Ginny recently made the long trek from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Valdez and they are now settled in. Caren began work at the Museum on September 12, 2022 and now oversees management of the VMHA Collections.

Caren has a keen interest in fashion and has co-curated several exhibits of that nature. The past year she has been working as a Costumed Interpreter at Gibbs Farm, an 1830s -1870s historic site with a mission to interpret Minnesota pioneer and Dakota Indigenous history.

Caren Oberg at Gibbs Farm

 Caren’s first exhibit as Curator for the Valdez Museum is titled 300 Inches of Fashion: Clothing and the Story of Valdez. It uses clothing from the Valdez collection to consider the community at moments of significant change to the town in the late 19th and 20th centuries. However, 300 Inches of Fashion will not be limited to historical moments, but will also be a place to find out how clothing represents us and our experiences today.  

 The exhibit, 300 Inches of Fashion: Clothing and the Story of Valdez, opens on October 28, 2022, with an opening reception to be held that evening at 5:30 pm in the Egan Commons of the Valdez Museum on Egan Drive.

For More Information Contact:

Executive Director Patricia Relay                                                

Tel. 907-835-2764, Email: prelay@valdezmuseum.org