SITKA — A new interdisciplinary festival in Sitka, Alaska on the historic Sheldon Jackson Campus will provide opportunity for tourists and locals to explore science and art over two weeks of hands-on workshops, events, and performances in July 2016. The festival is made possible by an Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and hosted by the award-winning Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Sitka Sound Science Center, Sheldon Jackson Museum, and Island Institute.
Faculty members are top artists and scientists from Alaska and the lower 48. Session I includes: Rob Dunbar, climate and ocean scientist at Stanford and consultant for the UN, Nikki McClure, internationally renowned papercut artist and author, Molly Wizenberg, winner of the James Beard award for her blog Orangette, Clark Mishler, former National Geographic photographer and Anchorage resident. Session II includes Cristi Catt, classically-trained singer and instructor at New England Conservatory; Audrey Armstrong, fish-skin sewing artist and designer and Anchorage resident; Christina Cianfrani, hydrologist and professor at Hampshire College; and Teri Rofkar, Tlingit weaver and designer, recipient of the 2009 NEA heritage fellowship.
Roger Schmidt, executive director of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, says, “At the Festival, everything is taken care of for you–there is no laundry to do, dinner to cook, errands to run–all you have to do is show up and be curious. How often do adults get the chance to just sit down and create for a whole week, in a supportive and stunning environment?”
Session I will run from July 16-23, 2016, and Session II will run from July 23-30, 2016. Registration is now open (until classes are filled) at www.sitkafestival.org/register. Tuition and accommodations is $600-$1200; scholarships are available. For questions or more information, please visit us at http://www.sitkafestival.org/, or contact festival manager Anna Lee at annalee@fineartscamp.org or 907-747-3085.
