Dara Lohnes

I am a collections professional residing in Tlingit Aani, the unceded ancestral and traditional lands of the Áak’w Kwáan and T’aaku Kwáan. I am currently the Collections and Curatorial Manager at Sealaska Heritage Institute. Previously, I have worked at the the Juneau-Douglas City Museum as their Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, the University of Wyoming Art Museum as their Collections Manager and the National Music Museum as their Photographer.

In the field I volunteer for professional organizations, including being a former Co-chair of the ARCS Conference Committee, the Wyoming State Representative for RC-MPMA, the Museum Studies Liaison for the former CS-AAM group, and a grant reviewer for Museums Alaska and Creative West (WestAF.) I have a Master of Art in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester’s school of Museum Studies where my dissertation focused on the physical impacts visitors have on collections and the policies surrounding their care.

I specialize in registration and collections management, most especially in the digitalization of objects and how people visiting a space affect how the collection is cared for and interpreted. My favorite part of my career is bringing the hidden stories of the collections to the communities serviced by the museum.

Some experiences outside of official academic studying include a course immersing myself in traditional artistic practices of Northern India, excavating Roman city Heraclea Lyncestis in Bitola, Macedonia, and visiting multiple museums and heritage sites around the United States and Europe.