Wasilla museum to show off brassieres

WASILLA — Are you an artist with a good idea for a bra-themed piece?

The Dorothy G. Page Museum wants to put your work on display.

“A lot of people look forward to it every year. We have a lot of returning artists that put in a piece every year,” said museum curator Bethany Buckingham.

The museum issued a call for artists this week for its third annual Brassieres to Nowhere exhibit, set to open Sept. 8.

Pieces in the past have ranged from bicycle tires repurposed as a “training bra” to a pair of doorknobs. The exhibit also has included beaded pieces and more traditional art, albeit traditional bra-inspired art. Categories range from mixed media to fiber arts, painting, photography and sculpture.

“It’s just bringing breast cancer awareness in an artistic form to the Valley,” Buckingham said.

And it benefits a good cause. The museum has partnered for the event again this year with Casting for Recovery, which sends breast cancer survivors and women fighting breast cancer on fishing trips.

Buckingham said the idea for the exhibit wasn’t quite an original one.

“The Juneau-Douglas City Museum did one that was called Bra Dazzler and they had a very good turnout,” she said. “They do the Wild Bras on Parade in Anchorage, but there really wasn’t anything out here in the Valley.”

Entries for Brassieres to Nowhere are due Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. They must be able to be displayed until Oct. 13.

The show ends with an auction, at which all the artists willing to part with their work will auction their creations to benefit Casting for Recovery. The auction is paired with a masquerade event.

“We do have people come in costume,” Buckingham said.

She said she expects entries to trick in over the next month, but if the past is any prologue, she said most of them will arrive in the final week, just before the deadline.

As for what she thinks she’ll get, Buckingham said it’s always a surprise.

“I’m never sure what we’re getting until the day before we open,” she said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.

What: Brassieres to Nowhere bra-inspired art exhibit

When: Deadline is Sept. 7. Art will hang from Sept. 8 until October 13.

Where: The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at 323 N. Main Street, next to the Meta-Rose Public Library

Why: To benefit Casting for Recovery in its efforts to bring breast cancer survivors fishing

Cost: $10 plus a completed entry form available at cityofwasilla.com/museum