Sarah Manriquez

Genesis

2019 | BFA Thesis Exhibition

Select images from Genesis

A strong wind blows both the Alaska state flag and American flag on April 18th, 2018 in Fairbanks, AK in front of the Rescue Mission. Courtesy of the artist — A strong wind blows both the Alaska state flag and American flag on April 18th, 2018 in Fairbanks, AK in front of the Rescue Mission. The Fairbanks Rescue Mission is the only overnight mens and womens emergency shelter in the interior of Alaska. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh’s green pad locked closet stands tall acting as a room divider on April 28th 2018 at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh’s green pad locked closet stands tall acting as a room divider on April 28th 2018 at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission. Furniture in each programmer’s space acts as a room divider and helps separate living quarters among the six clients who share this single room. Felicia’s space is next to a window and came with a wooden closet she is able to stow and lock her belongings in with a padlock. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh holds a laminated image of her son, Justin Cavanaugh (right) and his father, Donald Joseph (left) on April 28th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh holds a laminated image of her son, Justin Cavanaugh (right) and his father, Donald Joseph (left) on April 28th, 2018. Justin met his father for the first time when they were both incarcerated at the Fairbanks Correctional Facility. Donald was in and out of prison Justin’s entire life. After Donald was released from an 18 year prison sentence, he overdosed and was found frozen outside in the winter of 2016 in North Pole, AK. This is the only image that exists with both father and son in the same photograph. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh’s April calendar hangs on her wall beside her bed along with her rosary and a written reminder from the bible to “Love thy neighbor and thy self,” on April 28th 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh’s April calendar hangs on her wall beside her bed along with her rosary and a written reminder from the bible to “Love thy neighbor and thy self,” on April 28th 2018. Felicia keeps a busy schedule at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission as a programmer between completing assignments for classes she is enrolled at the Mission, working her mandatory chores and attending AA meetings. She is also extensively involved with her church, Journey Underground and makes weekly visits to see her son, Justin Cavanaugh at the Fairbanks Correctional Facility during the weekends. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Morning light pours in through the window next to Felicia Cavanaugh’s bed onto her bible and other books sitting on her table at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 28th 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Morning light pours in through the window next to Felicia Cavanaugh’s bed onto her bible and other books sitting on her table at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 28th 2018. Felicia reads her bible twice a day outside of class in this spot. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh eats breakfast in the women’s cafeteria at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 28th 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh eats breakfast in the women’s cafeteria at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 28th 2018. The Mission provides three free meals a day to people in need in the community. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh walks to the side of the building at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission to smoke on April 18th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh walks to the side of the building at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission to smoke on April 18th, 2018. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh sits in the designated smoking area at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission and smokes a cigarette after breakfast on April 18th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh sits in the designated smoking area at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission and smokes a cigarette after breakfast on April 18th, 2018. Felicia is trying to quit smoking. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh shows off all her sobriety coins she has earned from the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings she regularly attends on April 18th, 2018. The coins are awarded every month and are a representation of her sobriety and continued dedication to stay clean. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh shows off all her sobriety coins she has earned from the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings she regularly attends on April 18th, 2018. The coins are awarded every month and are a representation of her sobriety and continued dedication to stay clean. Felicia carries the coins with her at all times in her wallet as a reminder to make the right choices each day. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh holds her newest sobriety coin in her hand on April 18th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh holds her newest sobriety coin in her hand on April 18th, 2018. She has been sober for the last eight months. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh signs out at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 18th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh signs out at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 18th, 2018. As a regular client, she must sign in and out of the shelter, listing her destination as a measure of accountability and safety. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh walks to the nearest bus stop to the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 18th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh walks to the nearest bus stop to the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 18th, 2018. Good shoes become an absolute necessity for the Felicia and other clients at the Mission in her position. With the amount of walking they do everyday they wear through shoes quickly. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

The barbed wire is illuminated in the Fairbanks sun at the Fairbanks Correctional Center (FCC) on April 21st 2018. Courtesy of the artist — The barbed wire is illuminated in the Fairbanks sun at the Fairbanks Correctional Center (FCC) on April 21st 2018. FCC is surrounded by fences intertwined with barbed wire that stand over 20 feet tall. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh (right) and her nephew (left) visit her son, Justin Cavanaugh (middle) at the Fairbanks Correctional Center on April 21st, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh (right) and her nephew (left) visit her son, Justin Cavanaugh (middle) at the Fairbanks Correctional Center on April 21st, 2018. All visits with inmates take place behind glass. Felicia has not held or been able to touch her son for over 5 years. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh reads her letter from God out loud while working her shift at the front desk on the women’s side at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on Friday, April 27th 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh reads her letter from God out loud while working her shift at the front desk on the women’s side at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on Friday, April 27th 2018. Felicia’s AA sponsor encouraged her to write a letter from God to herself. She was instructed to write a stream of consciousness, whatever came to mind and not reread it or stop until she felt she was done. The letter talked about many of the changes Felicia has made in her life so far on her journey to recovery and encouraged her to stay on track and keep moving forward. © Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Felicia Cavanaugh folded her hands in prayer and meditation at the table next to her bed at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 4th, 2018. Courtesy of the artist — Felicia Cavanaugh folded her hands in prayer and meditation at the table next to her bed at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission on April 4th, 2018. Felicia is in the 11th step of the 12 step program for drug rehab and alcohol treatment. The 11th step has a heavy emphasis on seeking enlightenment and connection with a higher power through prayer and meditation. Prior to her enrollment in the Genesis program, Felicia never prayed. Now, she finds herself having a constant dialogue with God throughout her day. She believes that her relationship with God plays a major role in her rehabilitation and future success.© Sarah Manriquez, All Rights Reserved 2018

Artist Statement

Homelessness in Alaska is a complex and growing problem that deserves to be explored in depth. Over the last several years I have documented the life of Felicia Cavanaugh, a homeless woman in the Interior of Alaska. Before we can begin to solve homelessness we must be able to discuss and identify the obstacles that prevent people from moving out of homelessness. This body of work is dedicated to exploring those very challenges.

The black and white suspended photographs chronicle part of Felicia’s life while she lived at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission, an overnight emergency shelter. Through her story we shine a new light on homelessness in the interior and gain some insight into the extraordinary obstacles that our most vulnerable neighbors face everyday to overcome their circumstances.

Read the Thesis

Show Card (Front)

Show Card (Back)

"Genesis" is one part of “Finding Home,” a documentary photography art exhibit about homelessness in Alaska that opened on Friday, December 6th 2019 at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art in Anchorage, AK. "Finding Home" is comprised of three separate and distinct bodies of work that all discuss and address different topics surrounding homelessness in Alaska.

Genesis

In the center gallery at IGCA - International Gallery of Contemporary Art, the suspended frames follow the life and story of Felicia Cavanaugh and her journey out of homelessness. Image courtesy of Donna Marie Photography

Finding Home

Words that convey the core idea of preventing homelessness are burned onto wood magnets. Image courtesy of Donna Marie Photography

Through Our Eyes

The North Gallery houses the “Through Our Eyes” project. The images displayed in this iteration of the exhibition were all taken by people who are experiencing homelessness in Fairbanks, AK. Most of the images were captured by homelessness children. Image courtesy of Donna Marie Photography

After many discussions with local organizations who work extensively with our homeless populations as well as asking people who have faced homelessness themselves, I asked them to give me a single word that captures some of the core ideas, constructs and elements that would help prevent homelessness. Each word represents one idea, that had it existed or had been attainable or available then one person would not have been homeless. It’s the beginning of a much longer conversation of how we move forward to solving the issue at large.

In the News

Sarah Manriquez talks to a portrait subject, camera in hand, during her work with Through Our Eyes. Image courtesy of Sarah Manriquez

Fairbanks artist tackles homelessness in the Alaskan interior

KTVF | Ramzi Abou Ghalioum | Published: Nov. 21, 2019

Title "Northern Surroundings" in a black box over a blue mountain illustration

Northern Soundings: Alaska in Conversation

Hosted by Robert Hannon

Sarah Manriquez talks to the camera during the opening reception at the Wandering Bear Gallery. Image courtesy of Sarah Manriquez

Wandering Bear Gallery exhibits photos taken by Fairbanks’ homeless population as well as spine-tingling sculptures

KTVF | Ramzi Abou Ghalioum | Published: Feb. 10, 2020

Website

Curriculum Vitae

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About the Artist

Sarah Manriquez is a photographer and filmmaker living in Fairbanks, AK. An overarching theme that ties her work together is the resilience of the human spirit. Sarah explores the concept of resilience through collaborations in documentary-style fieldwork. Many of Sarah’s works are visual anthropological studies on themes in our contemporary society whether that be homelessness in the arctic or the objectification of women. Her artwork takes a critical view of social, political, and cultural issues. These themes often confront the viewer and urge them to consider other perspectives different from their own. Much of Sarah’s documentary work renegotiates photography into a force behind education and advocacy and acts as an agent of change rather than exclusively a tool to record history. Her most recent work explores homelessness in Alaska by documenting the life of Felicia Cavanaugh, a homeless woman who lived at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission and her journey out of homelessness.

Sarah Manriquez, UAF Photo by JR Ancheta

Department of Art

Sarah Manriquez

Genesis

2019 | BFA Thesis Exhibition

Select images from Genesis

Artist Statement

Genesis

Finding Home

Through Our Eyes

In the News

Follow for more:

About the Artist

Questions?

CLA Contact Information

UAF College of Liberal Arts

CLA Departments & Programs