Juneau-based actor Xáalnook Erin Tripp was recently named one of the 2023 Artists in Business Leadership Fellows for First Peoples Fund program. Tripp said she intends to use to program’s grant funding to set up a professional recording studio in Juneau for her voice acting career and to share with other artists in the community. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Juneau-based actor Xáalnook Erin Tripp was recently named one of the 2023 Artists in Business Leadership Fellows for First Peoples Fund program. Tripp said she intends to use to program’s grant funding to set up a professional recording studio in Juneau for her voice acting career and to share with other artists in the community. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

First Peoples Fund to help Juneau actor create recording studio for voice acting

Xáalnook Erin Tripp among artists with Southeast ties to earn the award.

Patrons of Perseverance Theatre are no strangers to the power of Xáalnook Erin Tripp’s voice and ability to share a narrative, and now thanks to a recent grant awarded to the actor, she’ll be able to expand her reach and extend that opportunity to others.

Earlier this week, Tripp was named one of the 2023 Artists in Business Leadership Fellows, a prestigious award that celebrates Indigenous artists and includes a $10,000 grant to each artist aimed at offering a financial resource for the artists to aid them in furthering their interests in the arts.

In addition to Tripp being named, Tlingit multi-medium artist Alison Bremner Nax̲shag̲eit was also recognized as a 2023 Cultural Capital Fellow for the program, along with contemporary Haida artist Robert Charles Davidson Guud San Glans being named a 2023 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award honoree for his work in Haida and Tlingit carving, dance, sculpture and storytelling.

Tlingit multi-medium artist Alison Bremner Nax̲shag̲eit was recognized as a 2023 Cultural Capital Fellow for First Peoples Fund program. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Tlingit multi-medium artist Alison Bremner Nax̲shag̲eit was recognized as a 2023 Cultural Capital Fellow for First Peoples Fund program. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Born and raised in Juneau, Tripp is well known in the community for her contributions to the local theater community and has been featured in productions across the state for her spectacular performances. Most recently, Tripp said she has been further exploring the voice acting industry, and that intention is what led her to apply for the First Peoples Fund fellowship.

“I was very excited and it is such an honor to win,” she said. “For me, it’s about being able to take the next step in myself as an artist to have more agency and this is another step for that.”

With the $10,000 grant, Tripp said she plans to use the funds to set up a professional recording studio that she can then use to work in the voice acting field while still living in Juneau.

Tripp said it’s also important to her to give back to the community that has supported her throughout her career as an artist and said she plans to open up the studio to other artists in the Juneau or Alaska community who are interested or could find benefit in using it to further their career in the arts as well.

“I plan on it being a community resource and so that other people can create things in the community, I’m just really excited,” she said.

In addition to the First Peoples Fund, last month Tripp was also accepted into the esteemed Penguin Random House Audio Narrator Mentorship Program, a six-month-long mentorship where she will work with producers from the Penguin Random to learn more about the audiobook industry and production.

She said the timing for the award grant and mentorship program coincides perfectly with her intentions to become more involved in the voice acting industry, which she said can be a difficult field to get into coming from Alaska where there aren’t as many immediate work or opportunities compared to bigger cities in the Lower 48. She said she is grateful for the opportunities that the award opened up for her, and said she hopes more people in the Alaska Native community can benefit from it as well and bring more representation into the arts.

“I think it’s really amazing because I think coming from Alaska, not just in Juneau, it feels like it’s a small town,” Tripp said. “So just to see yourself and other Alaska Native artists honored, it is really nice to see us getting these awards and achieving these things.”

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 1

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

A girl uses her cellphone at Bronx High School of Science in New York on Jan. 11, 2016. (Yana Paskova for The New York Times)
Juneau School District seeks feedback from community on cellphone policy

The conversation rises from cellphone bans happening nationally and at the state level.

Juneau International Airport is getting new leadership in its administration and board of directors. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file photo)
Assembly names two new airport board members in shakeup after budget stalemate

Angela Rodell and David Epstein, both former members, to get quick start at seeking solution this week.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Blank posts are seen where the two totem poles once stood at the Fred Meyer main entrance on Feb. 7, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Fred Meyer totem poles get a second chance at life

Tlingit master carver says they will be refurbished with tribal youth and repurposed.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Friday, Feb. 7, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Construction progress on a new Kaladi Brothers warehouse in Midtown Anchorage is seen on April 22, 2024. Of all major Alaska economic sectors, construction had the highest percentage increase in nonresident hire in 2023, state economists report. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Nonresident hiring in Alaska hits new record, state analysis shows

The number of nonresidents working in Alaska hit a new record in… Continue reading

Most Read