August First Friday Artist Talk w/Steven Gordon & Anvil Catlin Williamson

S8/7/2020- Steven Gordon is an Anchorage artist painting the landscape of south central Alaska for the past 35 years in a painterly realist style. He went to Dartmouth college and then earned this MFA from the university of Iowa in 1984 and headed up to Alaska to start his adventures with the life and land of Alaska. He’s taught at UAA and APU and had done numerous painting workshops, and artist-in-the-school residencies across the state. His work can be seen in many private, public and corporate collections.

Anvil Catlin Williamson was born and raised in Spokane, WA but has been a permanent resident of Fairbanks, Alaska since 2008. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2016 and has been a full-time artist since 2017. Utilizing animal imagery combined with non-organic components, Anvil’s ceramic and mixed-media sculptures explore the roles of suffering and empathy in the individual life. This current body of work entitled “Shelter” delves into our human need for safety as well as community. All of us have recently experienced changes in how we relate to our physical and emotional shelters in the shadow of current events. The subjects you see represent individuals struggling to find or provide shelter amidst the various forms of isolation that often come with it. more.

Land Acknowledgement Series, Part 5: Acknowledgement in Action w/ with Melissa Shaginoff, Sally Ash & Syverine Bentz

8/7/2020- Melissa Shaginoff (Ahtna, Piaute) discusses an ephemeral land marking project, “Acknowledgement in Action.” Original place names, art, language and science intersect. She was joined by special guests Sally Ash, Sugt’estun language teacher in Nanwalek and Syverine Bentz, the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve’s Education Coordinator. more

Land Acknowledgement Series, Part 4: Indigenizing Monuments with Joel Isaak & Ruth Miller

Joel Isaak's family is from the village of Ch’aghałnikt (Point Possession) and currently lives in Soldotna. His Dena’ina name, Łiq’a yes, translates to salmon skin which relates to his pursuits of learning fish skin sewing. Joel is an artist, educator and lifelong learner. He uses art to uncover understanding of working in an educational environment where he combines the Western education model with traditional Alaska Native ways of life. Language work inspires Joel’s artistic practice and education methodology. He uses multi-cultural communication as a medium to aid in language revitalization. Art has served as a safeguard for him and a medium for generating understanding and communicating hard truths to a wide range of audiences to help facilitate wellness.

We also welcomed special guest Ruth Miller to this conversation. Ruth Miller is a Dena’ina Athabaskan woman who was born and raised in Alaska and currently lives in Anchorage. Her family on her maternal side is from the village of Ekuk in Bristol Bay. She claims Russian Jewish heritage from her Father’s side. She is a climate activist, Indigenous rights advocate, traditional beadwork artist, storyteller, and singer. She is also on the path of becoming a traditional healer. She is a recent graduate of Brown University and received a BA in Critical Development Studies with a focus on Indigenous resistance and liberation. She believes that the true liberation of Indigenous peoples must begin with a deep spiritual foundation in the wisdom of the ancestors, and knowledge of how to live in harmony and respect with the lands, waters, plants, and animal relatives. This means honoring the power of cultural bonds, the strength of healthy communities, and the beauty of Indigenous lifeways and artforms. (Bio from https://sustainus.org/people/ruth-miller/). more.

Land Acknowledgement Series, Part 3: Marking Tuggeht, an Indigenous Land-Acknowledgement Initiative with Argent Kvasnikoff and civic partners

Friday, July 24, 2020 featured a conversation about a community process of education and transparency in decision-making about land acknowledgement, Asia hosts civic leaders and artist, Argent Kvasnikoff for an open dialogue about marking Tuggeht as Indigenous land with Ivan Encelewsk (CEO, Ninilchik Village Tribe) Donna Aderhold (Homer City Council) Marianne Aplin (US Fish and Wildlife, Islands and Ocean Visitors Center) Matt Steffy (Homer Parks Maintenance Coordinator), Julie Engebretsen (Homer Planning Department), Deb Lowney (PARC Committee) and Robert Archibald (PARC Committee), Rika Mouw (Landscape Architect). more.

Land Acknowledgement Series, Part 2: “Where We Begin: Tuggeght, At the Shore“

July 17, 2020, features guests Emily Johnson and Amber Webb. This conversation will be centered around learning about land acknowledgement

Amber Webb is an artist & activist from Dillingham, Alaska of Yup’ik and Unangan heritage. She received a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award and a Project Award. Amber explores pictorial Yup’ik storytelling to tell contemporary stories of oppression and resilience.

Emily Johnson is an artist who makes body-based work. A Bessie Award-winning choreographer and a 2015 Guggenheim fellow in choreography, she is based in New York. Raised in Soldotna, Alaska, she is of Yup’ik descent. more.

Land Recognition Series, Part 1: “We Were Not Discovered. How Should Captain Cook Be Remembered?” July 10, 2020, featured guests Da-Ka-Xeen Mehner and Melissa Shaginoff.

Born in Fairbanks, Alaska to a Tlingit/N’ishga Mother and Hippy/American father, Da-ka-xeen Mehner uses the tools of family ancestry and personal history to build his art. his work stems from an examination of a multicultural heritage and social expectations and definitions. In particular his work has focused on the constructs of Native American identity, and an attempt to define the Self outside of these constructs. Mehner has received a number of awards for his work including a 2015 USA Rasmuson fellowship, a 2015 Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship, and a 2014 Native Arts and Culture Foundation Artist Fellowship.

Melissa Shaginoff is part of the Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay’dini’aa Na Kayax (Chickaloon Village). Melissa is an Ahtna and Paiute person, an artist, a social activist and currently the curator of Alaska Pacific University’s Art Galleries. Within her current curatorial work, Melissa has focused intently on potlatching. She believes that the only future in which institutions embody Indigenous ideologies is one that publicly recognizes its power, and autonomously gives it away. Melissa has participated the Island Mountain Arts Toni Onley Artist Project in Wells, British Columbia as well as the Sheldon Jackson Museum Artist Residency in Sitka, Alaska. She has been published in First American Art Magazine, Inuit Art Quarterly, and the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Learning Lab page. She is currently working on a year long project revolved around social engagement and conversation as art practice. more.

Inspiration & Adaptation w/ Kima & Dasha Kelly Hamilton

Inspiration & Adaptation “Dancing Alone,” w/ Mariah Maloney, Maura García and Becky Kendall

Friday, June 26, 2020, featured guest dancers: Mariah Maloney, Maura García and Becky Kendall

Originally from Homer, Mariah Maloney is a New York-based dance artist located in Brooklyn and Brockport, New York. Mariah Maloney Dance formed in 2003 and today the company is invited to perform, teach and create new work in New York, throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.

Maura García (non-enrolled Cherokee/ Mattamuskeet) is a dance artist who creates contemporary Indigenous performance to form connections, empower cultural values, explore the rhythms of the natural world. Maura’s artistic creations reflect the power of stories to form and change our realities. Through narrative-driven choreography and beat-embracing movement.

Becky Kendall is a choreographer, performer, and educator based in Anchorage. Creating work for a stage, a park, or a rooftop, she is inspired to connect to people in new ways and in nontraditional environments After returning home to Anchorage, Becky founded Momentum Dance Collective with 6 fellow artists in 2008 and continues to serve as Artistic Director. more.

Inspiration & Adaptation w/ Nathan Shafer & Melissa Shaginoff

Friday, June 19, featured guests Nathan Shafer and Melissa Shaginoff. Nathan Shafer is a new media artist from Alaska specializing in augmented reality and digital humanities. He is one of the founding members of both the Meme-Rider Media Team and Manifest.AR. He was profiled by PBS Digital Studios as part of an online collaboration called The Future in 2014. Shafer’s geobased AR works have been displayed on every continent in multiple venues across the world. He contributed chapters to Augmented Reality Art, Augmented Reality Games II, and Augmented Reality in Education, in 2020. He received a Creative Capital award in 2020 for Wintermoot. Melissa Shaginoff is part of the Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay'dini'aa Na Kayax (Chickaloon Village). Melissa is an Ahtna and Paiute person, an artist, a social activist and currently the curator of Alaska Pacific University’s Art Galleries. Within her current curatorial work, Melissa has focused intently on potlatching. She believes that the only future in which institutions embody Indigenous ideologies is one that publicly recognizes its power, and autonomously gives it away. Melissa has participated the Island Mountain Arts Toni Onley Artist Project in Wells, British Columbia as well as the Sheldon Jackson Museum Artist Residency in Sitka, Alaska. She has been published in First American Art Magazine, Inuit Art Quarterly, and the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Learning Lab page. Her artwork is collected by the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Palmer Museum and the Pratt Museum. Melissa is also a part of the N-Collective, a new media group focusing on transparent and accurate representation of Indigenous experiences in fiction and science-fiction content. Melissa was selected for the Skövde Musuem’s AiRs International Artist Residency in Skövde, Sweden, she is currently working on a year long project revolved around social engagement and conversation as art practice. more.

Inspiration & Adaptation w/ Kat Moore and Tim Easton

Friday, June 12, featured guests Kat Moore and Tim Easton. Kat Moore, multi-instrumentalist and creative force known as The Forest That Never Sleeps, weaves a sonic tapestry with her compositions. Kat lives and teaches music in Anchorage. Tim Easton is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter playing rock and roll, folk and Americana music. He tours extensively and often plays in Alaska. Tim is based in Nashville. more.