From juror Patrice Aphrodite Helma’s statement: “The Juror's Choice Award was granted to Katie lone Craney for her photograph honoring Jenny Irene, a once-in-a-generation artist who passed away this year. The text that accompanies the picture reads, "Jenny found these casings while on a walk and kept them. They were recently gifted to me after Jenny's untimely and sudden passing. I now carry them in my pocket."

This March, I gave a talk for the Anchorage Museum's Virtual Artist in Residence program. I was fortunate enough to engage with Jenny Irene's thoughtful and insightful questions about Seiki Kayamori's photographs of Yakutat, which I was presenting on. I'm grateful for the photograph lovingly made by her friend Katie lone Craney. The picture serves as a reminder of the impact one artist can have on their community. It's a small world, and the world and work of Alaskan artists is even more dear. I'm proud to be counted amongst all of you.”

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“Now in its 55th year, Alaska Positive is a statewide juried photographic exhibition organized and toured by the Alaska State Museum. Its purpose is to encourage the practice of photography as an art form in Alaska. Alaska Positive opens Friday at the Alaska State Museum and runs through mid-March 2026. The exhibition will then travel to museums around the state.

Patrice Aphrodite Helmar is the juror for Alaska Positive 2025. Helmar’s photographic career began in Juneau working in their father’s small-town camera shop and darkroom. Their work has been shown at PARTICIPANT INC, the Jewish Museum, Ortega Y Gasset Projects, Gaa Gallery, the National Museum of Iceland and is in museum collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Helmar selected 37 photographs by 33 photographers for the exhibit. Overall, Alaskan photographers submitted 198 entries.

The top award, the Juror’s Choice Award, went to Katie Ione Craney of Fairbanks for a photograph titled what we carry in our pockets (for Jenny Irene). The Awards of Recognition went to Amber Johnson of Anchorage for Ice Studies #8018, a C-type print, and Petra Lisiecki of Anchorage for Real/Ethereal - The Swimmer, also a C-type print. Awards are sponsored by the Friends of the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum.”