2016 Artists in Residence
Arctic Refuge Wilderness
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
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Natalya Zahn | Mixed media/watercolorist from Cambridge, MA
"In July of 2016 I traveled to Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as an artist in residence, through the Voices of the Wilderness Program (VOTW). The seven days spent camping on the summer tundra, amid shed caribou antlers, wolf tracks, and 24-7 daylight, was some of the most peaceful and impactful time I’ve been privileged to experience in a long while. The opportunity to completely unplug from civilization and connect instead with a landscape - so foreign and so limitless - using the steady, quiet but fierce heartbeat of the place to inform my sketchbook, was one that will inspire studio projects for years to come.
Lindsay Carron | Pen and Ink artist from Los Angeles, CA
"For two weeks, I traveled with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as an artist in residence to Arctic Village, a village of 120 Gwich’in people, and into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. At 19 million acres, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest in the country, and is located entirely above the Arctic Circle. It is a land of strong contrasts, all at once vast and untouched, and still altered by climate change and the continued use of resources. By walking upon this land alongside the people who have existed here for a thousand generations, my ideals were tempered, yet my inspiration soared.
Innoko Wilderness
Innoko National Wildlife Refuge
Dan Branch | Writer from Juneau, AK
Rachel Frank, Scultptor/Performance Artist from Brooklyn, NY
“In 2015, a population of wood bison was reintroduced into the Innoko region, marking the first time in over a century this species has lived in the United States. As an artist whose work explores the environmental practice of rewilding, I was excited to travel down the Yukon and Innoko Rivers in search of these animals. On our journey, we stopped in many of the villages bordering the refuge, speaking with local people about the bison and their impact on the future. We camped on shorelines and woke to the sounds of swans migrating overhead or wolves in the distance. In the heat of the summer sun, we found traces of bison hair caught in sticker bushes off the banks of the river and discovered footprints and wallows in fields. On one of the last days of the residency, we finally found a single bull: we watched as he grazed and wallowed in a field before leaving the refuge behind.”
Kootznoowoo Wilderness
Tongass National Forest
Jay Crosby | Mixed media illustrator/Digital Photographer from Gotha, FL
"In July 2016 I spent a week and a half in the Kootznoowoo Wilderness of Admiralty Island working as an artist in residence alongside members of the USFS and Fish and Wildlife. The first half of my residency was spent at the Pack Creek area, where summer visitors can watch Alaskan brown bears fish for salmon and dig for clams in the mud flats. I spent 4-6 hours every day watching subadults wrestle each other in the sedge grass, while a sow with spring cubs chased away approaching bears from her favorite fishing spots. I spent my time recording observations in my sketchbook, taking photos, and exploring the surrounding areas with my knowledgeable guides.
Misty Fjords National Monument
Tongass National Forest
Tyra Olstad, Cartographer from Oneonta, NY
"Scribbled notes from my residency at Misty Fiords read as exclamations—Touched a waterfall! Kayaked through whitecaps! Held a jellyfish!—but my sketches are all questions: How to draw mist, constantly swirling? How to fit soaring fiords onto a small flat page? How to capture the rhythm of tides, the scent of salt, the taste of berries, the snorts of seals?
Nellie Juan-College Fiord Wilderness Study Area
Chugach National Forest
Beau Sylte | Videographer from Bothell, WA
“I was able to get a very good picture of the Nellie Juan College Fiord Wilderness Study area during my time there as a volunteer filmmaker. From public boat tours of distant fjords, to camping on beautiful beaches with Wilderness rangers, I was able to aim my lenses at some incredible scenery, not to mention hearing the incredible story of the NJ-WSA.
Noatak Wilderness
Western Arctic National Parklands
Jessica Bryant | Painter from Coure d’lane, ID
Tebenkof Bay Wilderness
Tongass National Forest
Leslie Hendrickson | Puppet Maker from New York, NY
"Leaving New York City, I had no real image of Petersburg, the destination printed on my plane ticket, or the Tebenkof Bay Wilderness, where I was about to spend a week camping and kayaking. Those eight days—one extra because we were “weathered in”—were free from almost all signs of humanity. We watched tides change, scanned the horizon for whales and listened to sea otters chomping on clams. I was, at times, elated, exhausted, confused, confident, afraid and adventurous. I loved being out in the kayak, taking in views of the distant mountains, the water, the sky. By the end of the journey, I was full to the brim with all I’d seen and heard, ready to return home and translate that into my artwork."
Tracy Arm-Ford’s Terror Wilderness
Tongass National Forest
Klara Maisch | Printmaker/Painter/Bookmaker from Fairbanks, AK
"As a person who grew up in Interior Alaska, my time kayaking through Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness expanded my concept of just how diverse Alaskan landscapes are. USFS ranger Sean Rielly did a fantastic job of sharing and teaching me about Endicott Arm. With his help, I found pockets of time where I could closely study and attempt to capture our incredible surroundings. I often wondered how a painting could even begin to capture the immensity of such a place! I was especially fascinated to learn the specifics of how "wilderness" is defined/monitored/maintained, the history of ANILCA, and how wilderness affects visitors on a personal level. I am so grateful for this firsthand experience! It has been monumental in shaping what I hope to do through my work as an artist and as a local advocate for changing landscapes."
Jill Hubley | Data Artist from Brooklyn, NY
Togiak Wilderness
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
Jeff Parker | Photographer from Smithville, TX
"My time in Togiak National Wildlife Refuge went all too quickly. However, the memories of the journey will always be with me. I have a moment as I’m leaving Togiak Lake, a strange blip in time when I look around and realize that I will never see this lake or these mountains or that glacier again. Most times I don’t think that way, I usually figure I’ll be back someday. But in that moment I knew how unlikely it was that I’d ever return to Togiak Lake. Without the Voices of the Wilderness AIR program I wouldn’t have been here in the first place.
West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness
Tongass National Forest
Christin Minnotte | Performance artist from Miami, FL
“I had never been to Alaska before this artist residency. Six months later what continues to resonate in my consciousness is embedded in the Alaskan state motto: The Last Frontier. There echoes unawares in the Alaskan wilderness a timelessness so contrary to everything humanity has created since the industrial revolution - our modern world - one feels as if in another world. The laws of harmonious union which govern the Alaskan wilderness stand in stark contrast to the ethically barren cacophony of self-interest and self-assertiveness which governs the human world. Toward the end of our trip I realized that in the Tongass, little of my life the week before mattered. To exist here was simply to survive, to be governed by a different set of rules that had nothing to do with my modern wants or needs. Thereby I understood a sadness in realizing this place was indeed one of the last 'frontiers' of its kind. I had heard the 'voices of the wilderness'. It sounded of peaceable union and humble reverence for one's place. Nothing in the Alaskan wilderness can exist without everything else. The Alaskan wilderness should be an example to us all.