New online art directory seeks to promote, connect Alaska Native artists across the state

What you need to know:

• The Alaska Native Arts Directory is a comprehensive online resource featuring a wide range of Alaska Native artists, including those from across the Mat-Su.
• The launch marks a revival of the Alaska Native Arts Foundation, which closed its gallery and e-commerce operations in 2016 due to financial challenges.
• The directory is supported by multiple funding sources, including grants from the Rasmuson Foundation, the U.S. Small Business Administration and various state and municipal entities.

By Yereth Rosen
Alaska Beacon

A new online statewide directory has been launched to showcase and connect Alaska Native artists across disciplines.

The Alaska Native Arts Directory is the work of the nonprofit Alaska Native Arts Foundation. Listing is free. The directory went live last week, timing that coincided with the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention in Anchorage.

As of Monday, about 200 artists were listed, most of them with photos and biographical information. The Alaska Native Arts Foundation said it is seeking to expand that number to more than 1,000 by next year.

The Anchorage-based foundation said it also has a goal of holding a first-ever Alaska Native Arts Economic Summit next year, bringing together artists, policymakers and other partners to work on building the Indigenous creative economy.

There are other artists’ directories in Alaska, some of them with a focus on Indigenous artists. One, the Collective49 Marketplace, enables member artists to promote and sell their work online. And there are numerous local artists directories, such as those in Ketchikan and Homer.

Related: See artists Mat-Su area artists in the Alaska Native Arts Directory

The Alaska Natives Art Directory, however, is intended to be more comprehensive. Along with being statewide, the directory includes writers, musicians and other performing artists along with those who create carvings, paintings and other physical works of art. It includes contemporary art forms as well as traditional Indigenous arts.

“The Alaska Native Arts Directory celebrates the full spectrum of Alaska Native creativity, visual and written arts, performance, design, and traditional practices, reflecting the diversity and vitality of Alaska’s Indigenous cultures,” Gail Schubert, chair of the Alaska Native Arts Foundation, said in a statement.

Launch of the Alaska Native Arts Directory represents a renaissance of sorts for the Alaska Native Arts Foundation.

The foundation was created in 2002 and for several years operated an ecommerce site and a gallery in Anchorage. But it shut down those operations in 2016 after losing state funding and encountering other financial problems.

The directory project and other new activities now have a variety of funding sources, according to the foundation’s statement. The effort is backed by grants and other support from organizations that include the Rasmuson Foundation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the office of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the Municipality of Anchorage, among others, according to the statement.

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