age, for Alaska, and for the Arctic that encompasses centu-
ries of history and local knowledge as well as contemporary
movements.
We have looked for ways to tell stories in unexpected
ways. We “hack” the code of off-the-shelf digital products,
like Nanoleaf panels, to convey abstracted Arctic landscapes
or provide real-time weather
reports, developing large-scale
installations that create expe-
riences rather than tradition-
al exhibitions. We take the
lifeways of our place and turn
them into innovative programs,
such as Urban Homesteading,
which explores traditional
skills – home remedies, low-
waste kitchens, bee-keeping,
and harvesting and preserving
food – for modern sustainable
living. Instead of just labels on
a wall, we turn content into
vinyl records, augmented reality, and silent discos.
We recently worked with artist John Grade to create a
life-sized pingo (a large mound of earth-covered ice found
in the Arctic tundra) in the form of a mechanical and kinetic
sculpture, add mixed reality through Google HoloLens, and
tour it around the world. We have supported projects explor-
ing the role of tattoos in Arctic cultural identity and the hip-
hop influences in pan-Arctic and indigenous cultures.
Place-based narratives are a critical way we tell the story
of our Northern home and connect them to the stories of
people and landscapes around the world. Alaska has a distinct
and resilient story, one that is
not about disruption but about
endurance and innovation.
Our resilience is based on local
knowledge and fierce opti-
mism, with a belief in entrepre-
neurship as a way to see oppor-
tunity where others may not.
Alaska, and its counterparts in
other Arctic nations, have an
opportunity to add depth and
knowledge to contemporary
ideas and definitions of urban
and rural resilience.
Today, Anchorage’s streets
and schools and neighborhoods are full of the sounds of many
languages, and that is true across Northern nations and Arctic
villages as well. From the 20 Indigenous languages of Alaska
to the 100 languages of relative newcomers, we have a power-
ful story to tell that is not just one perspective but many. This,
POWERED
E
BY
PUBLIC
C
Cheryl Austin, Director of Corporate Sponsorship • [email protected] • (907) 550-8437