The Alaska Native Arts Foundation (in operation 2002–2016) was a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization formed to support the Alaska Native art community. Its mission was focused on economic development to create fairly-priced markets for Alaska Native art as well as to provide general awareness and public education of Alaska's indigenous cultures, and as a result offered programs to support Alaskan Native artists. Funded by a combination of government grants and private funding in the form of donations from Alaskan Native corporations, the organization distributed grant money through project support programs to provide in-residence art programs, educational programs for rural schools, funding for museum demonstrations, art workshops, and exhibitions and documentation of native artists' work.

Curation of Native Works

The Native Arts Foundation gallery in Anchorage, which opened in 2006 presented and curated the works of Native artists, including visual art, spoken word, performance art and choreography, dance, fashion, and video, as well as presenting works created during privately organized workshops and business training. Outside of Alaska, the foundation also promoted Alaskan Native art at events and festivals in

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, Washington D.C.,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, and

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. In addition, the Foundation maintained extensive inventory of Native art and utilitarian handmade items of all sorts, based on the "subsistence" lifestyle of their makers:

walrus ivory The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fa ...

carvings,

baleen Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...

etchings and baskets,

whalebone Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...

sculpture,

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

and

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and '' Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

skin baskets, fish skin crafts, caribou

antler Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on ...

dolls dressed in traditional sealskin clothing, bronze sculpture and oil and acrylic paintings; and wearable art and accessories: jewelry, carved masks, traditional " ulu" knives, traditional mukluks made using natural material, summer parkas, beaded gowns using quills and moose hide, bolo ties, walrus whisker earrings, "

scrimshaw Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth ...

" belt buckles, and silver, gold and copper jewelry.

Closure

The Foundation was dissolved in the spring of 2016 as the result of lost state funding and low markups on sold art. At the time of closure, the stock of the Foundation gallery was made available for private sale, and services were phased out to accommodate future marketing efforts. As operations ceased, the Foundation sought to distribute its intellectual property and valuable items to another organization.

References

2002 establishments in Alaska Alaska Native culture in Anchorage Alaska Native organizations Arts organizations established in 2002 Native American arts organizations Non-profit organizations based in Anchorage, Alaska {{NorthAm-native-stub