Museum exhibit highlights award-winning Alaskan photographs

Submitted by Kerynn Fisher
Phone: (907) 474-6941
05/23/06

The University of Alaska Museum of the North’s current special exhibit, "The Best of Alaska Positive," showcases a selection of photographs from the state’s premier juried photographic exhibition, Alaska Positive. The exhibit runs through June 11 and features 70 award-winning photographs from 1971 through 2004, including several works by Fairbanks artists James Barker, Charles Mason, Barry McWayne, Dennis Witmer and Kate Salisbury Wool.

"The photographs in this exhibit illustrate the talent and diversity of Alaska’s photographic artists over the past 35 years," says museum exhibit design director Wanda Chin. "From realistic portraits of everyday life to abstract interpretations, they provide an invaluable artistic record and commentary on life in Alaska. Because of the fragile nature of some of the works, this exhibit offers a rare chance to see these award-winners displayed together in one venue."

"The Best of Alaska Positive" was organized by the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, which also coordinates the biannual juried photography competition. The competition has drawn nationally and internationally-recognized jurors, including John Baldessari, Judy Dater and Garry Winogrand. A 44-page catalog accompanies the exhibit, illustrating the award-winning photographs and providing short juror biographies and quotes from juror statements for each year of the competition. The Fairbanks exhibit is supported, in part, by the City of Fairbanks hotel-motel tax fund regrant by the Fairbanks Arts Association.

Admission to the exhibit is included in the museum’s general admission price, which is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for youth 7-17 and free for children 6 and under. Museum members also receive free admission. The museum’s summer hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Note to editors: High-resolution images of several images from the exhibit are available.