Dance performance by Yees Ku Oo and Valentine’s Day raffle
Walter Soboleff Building
105 S. Seward St.
Reception: 4:30-8 p.m.,
performance 6-8 p.m.
Sealaska Heritage will host a performance by Yees Ku Oo, a multicultural dance group comprised of many indigenous nations. The Tlingit name Yees Ku Oo means “New People/New Beginning,” and was translated by the late Tlingit elder Clarence Jackson in 2003, the year the group formed. Yees Ku Oo has performed for many events around the state, including the Governor’s Inaugural Ball, the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, Celebration, and many others. The performance is free and all are welcome.
Also there will be a raffle for a Valentine’s Day gift: a silver hand-carved love bird pendant by Tlingit artist Heendei. Raffle participants need not be present to win.
Unheard Voices | Unheard Wisdom
Alaska State Museum
395 Whittier Street
Reception: 4:30-7 p.m.
Carmel Anderson will exhibit “Unheard Voices | Unheard Wisdom,” which shares the experiences of victims impacted by domestic and sexual abuse. The show features elegant life-size caste and fabric sculptures.
Anderson is one of eight artists selected for the Alaska State Museum 2017-2019 Solo Artist Exhibition Series.
Featured artist: Chef Stef
Juneau Artists Gallery
175 S. Franklin St.
Reception: 4:30-7 p.m.
Chef Stef will be showcasing Valentine’s Day themed cookies like heart-shaped shortbread and conversation heart cookies with loving and not-so-loving sayings, depending on your take of the day. Custom orders will be taken. Also available will be the chef’s salted caramels, black licorice and sesame brittle, almond toffee and granola. Treats will be provided.
Live music by FySH Houck
Kindred Post
145 S. Franklin St.
Reception: 4:30-7 p.m.
Come listen to live music by FySH Houck. There will be snacks.
Juneau youth display art in restroom
Coppa
917 Glacier Ave. #102
Reception: 4-6 p.m.
Coppa’s new program will feature art made by local youth in the restroom. This month’s work is by Cedar Fowler Croteau.
First Friday in Haines
—Sam Jackson and Rebecca Brewer stumbled onto their new medium by accident. Walking along the Yukon River during July’s “Art on the Waterfront” festival in Whitehorse, the duo ran across Nicole Bergman conducting an encaustics demonstration in one of the many artist tents.
Encaustics is the use of hot wax in art.
“We watched her for a while and then we walked away,” Brewer said. “And as we were walking, Sam stopped in his tracks and looked at me and said, ‘I gotta do that.’”
The two have been creating their own encaustic pieces since October, and will debut their work on Feb. 3 as part of Haines’ First Friday event. The exhibit opening will run from 5 — 7 p.m. at the Alaska Arts Confluence’s Art on Main Street Gallery, 217 Main Street, Gateway Building in Haines.
Brewer and Jackson are largely inspired by the beach, taking long walks during low tide to collect shells, rocks, and driftwood to affix to the cedar veneers they use for the base of their encaustics. The two apply pigmented wax to the cedar with paintbrushes, layering the colors before they heat and carve patterns into the malleable material.
The pair usually collaborates on more than one piece at a time, Brewer said.
“We work on them for a while and then we switch, and I might work on that one for a while and then I’ll work on his for awhile, and then we switch again,” she said. “What comes out of his brain mixes with what comes out of my brain. And then at some point either he or I will say, ‘Is it done?’ It’s a very playful process.”
Jackson trends toward maritime subjects in the less abstract pieces: boats, water, and birds can often be spotted in both his encaustic work and the acrylic paintings he is known for around Haines. Whatever the medium, though, the colors are always bright.
“It’s very colorful, very happy,” Brewer said. “It will be good for February.”
Haines began celebrating First Friday in February 2015, with local businesses and organizations holding arts and cultural events on the first Friday of each month, creating an Art Walk in downtown Haines that now extends from Jones Point to Historic Fort William H. Seward. AAC continues to accept proposals for both rotating and semi-permanent window, wall and floor art installations in Art on Main Street storefront gallery. The request for proposal application is available to download at http://www.alaskaartsconfluence.org.
