Alaska AIR
Alaska AIR is an annual residency program run by USA at select cultural institutions in the great 49th state. It is open only to USA Fellows. Interested artists apply for opportunities at the host organizations and are paired with the most appropriate institution. Alaska AIR is a unique collaboration between USA and the Alaska-based Rasmuson Foundation, and thanks to the foundation, all residencies are fully funded and include travel within the state for research.
Alaska AIR launched in 2007 with six USA Fellows traveling and working in the state. In Anchorage, USA Prudential Fellows Eiko and Koma worked at the Alaska Dance Theatre, USA Nimoy Fellow Michael Joo was in residence at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, and USA Rockefeller Fellow Dmae Roberts went to Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, a Native-owned and operated radio station. USA Broad Fellow Catherine Opie traveled to Juneau to work with the Perseverance Theatre, and USA Target Fellow Tanya Aguiñiga worked at the Native Arts Center at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
In 2008 the Alaska Dance Theatre, the Anchorage Museum, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, and the Native Arts Center will once again host USA Fellows. Two new organizations will also join the program: The Island Institute in Sitka will host a writer, and Out North in Anchorage will welcome another USA Fellow. The 2008-9 program is currently under development, so check here in the fall for more details. To read the USA Fellows’ dispatches from Alaska and view some remarkable images, please go to Dispatches from Alaska.
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Eiko and Koma. Photo: Marc Lester
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Michael Joo. Photo: Marc Lester
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Dmae Roberts. Photo: Marc Lester
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Tanya Aguiñiga. Photo: Da-Ka-Keen
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