Boreal forest focus of First Friday art show

March 29, 2013

University Relations

Amy Hartley
907-474-7823
3/29/13

The September leaves of boreal trees in Gail Priday’s backyard swirled in a mass of orange against the gray sky.

The image is now captured in Priday’s oil painting, called “Backyard,” which will be one of the many artworks featured in “Views of the Boreal Forest,” a First Friday art show running from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, April 5 in Room 204 of the Akasofu Building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

“The subject matter of the boreal forest is so limitless to me,” Priday, a fine arts graduate student at UAF. “I could never run out of things to paint.”

The show will showcase the various ways Alaskans are inspired by the taiga.

Extending in a broad band across the top of Earth, the boreal forest is found in North America and Eurasia. In Alaska, the boreal forest comprises most of the state, so its characteristic spruces and birches are firmly planted in local iconography.

The show includes artwork in a variety of media and features works from Interior artists, scientists and photographers, as well as satellite imagery from the Geographic Information Network of Alaska.



Staff at the GeoData Center and Map Sales at the Geophysical Institute have organized “Views of the Boreal Forest” and selected all of the featured artwork. This is the office’s third First Friday event since 2012. The GI and the International Arctic Research Center sponsor this show.

All ages are welcome. Parking is free after 5 p.m. on campus.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: GeoData Center and Map Sales, at 907-474-6166 or via email at uso@asf.alaska.edu.

NOTE TO EDITORS: High-resolution images of artwork are available upon request.

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