2 Native artists display work at Alaska Pacific University

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Inside the ConocoPhillips Gallery at Alaska Pacific University, you will see and hear the imagination of an artist.

Joe Senungetuk was born in Wales and has lived in Nome, Fairbanks, and around the state. He is an Inupiaq artist and Elder in residence at APU’s art program.

His granddaughter Violet is showing her work for the first time. Their theme — and the name of their show — is Intergenerational Love, and includes pieces from as far back as the 1960s.

When Senungetuk looks back on his work, he says he views it with fresh eyes every time and doesn’t let criticism bother him. He also finds inspiration in words his father told him.

“He said, let that be a reason to do better at it the next time,” Senungetuk said.

Nearby, the work of Aleut artist Fred Anderson is on display. Anderson, born in Naknek, escaped his home as a young man. Now his goal is to create art every day.

His art consists of themes such as Native issues, including subsistence, climate change, environmental issues, and those that have gone missing.

Fred works at night, and includes the phase of the moon in his work. Because of the heavy subject matter, he puts deep emotion into his work.

“You have to go there, you know, I have to go there, I have to feel it,” Anderson said.

The Senungetuk family show is in the ConocoPhillips Gallery located in Grant Hall, and Anderson’s show is in the Leah J. Peterson Gallery in Carr-Gottstein Academic Center, both located on the APU campus.

The shows will be open every weekday until Oct. 31 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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