Art faculty members to lead national session
August 23, 2016
Naomi Horne
907-474-6464
Two University of Alaska Fairbanks Art Department faculty members have been selected to co-chair a 2017 College Art Association Conference session focused on art and imagery in the circumpolar North.
Zoë Jones, associate professor, plans to examine the nexus between historical art issues and Arctic cultures. Annie Duffy, an instructor who sculpts and works in mixed media, will detail how landscape, atmosphere, climate and cultural change affect art in northern regions.
The annual conference is the top gathering of accredited art program visual artists in the United States. This is the first time Alaskans have been invited to chair a session in the conference’s 105 years, and their session will be the first to focus solely on high-latitude art.
The spring 2017 conference will be held in New York City.
Recent scientific focus on the Arctic has heightened interest in northern art and culture, both indigenous and nonindigenous.
“UAF’s art program is unique among college art programs because we excel not only in teaching theory but also in art-making and creative studies, and have a deep well of faculty expertise in both art history and studio practice”, Duffy said. “To be selected to present our work on the world’s stage in NYC next spring is an immense opportunity to show the world why we earned the privilege. We anticipate that prospective art students will take notice too.”
The art department is housed in the UAF College of Liberal Arts and offers bachelor's and master's degrees in seven areas of study, including art history, ceramics, drawing, computer art, metalsmithing, Native arts, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. The department has more than 500 alumni, including Duffy.
Proposals for papers to be presented in the session are being collected, and abstracts are due by Aug. 30. To apply, please review the call for participation. Abstracts that relate to both art history and studio art fields are welcome. However, all abstracts should have a strong and substantial connection to ideas related to the North and northern or circumpolar imagery and cultures.
ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/art, www.collegeart.org/conference/
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Annie Duffy, 907-474-6983, aduffy@alaska.edu. Zoë Jones, 907-474-7726, zjones@alaska.edu.