Gates of the Arctic National Park 2017 Artist in Residence

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve encompasses 8.4 million acres of the Brooks Range above the Arctic Circle, including tundra, boreal forest, mountains and six designated Wild Rivers. There are no roads, trails or designated campsites in the park. Cell phones do not work here and satellite service is unreliable. Access is primarily by small aircraft equipped with floats that land on rivers and small lakes.

The Artist in Residence program offers professional artists of all kinds—writers, composers, visual artists, photographers, digital artists, filmmakers, and artisans—the opportunity to pursue their art in this wilderness setting. The residency lasts approximately two weeks, including several days in Bettles, Alaska to prepare, eight days in the back country, and a few days to prepare and give a community program about the experience. Artists will accompany park staff on a working back country patrol in July, August or early September and must participate in the working aspects of the patrol. Artists must be physically fit and possess skills and experience for extended rigorous wilderness travel. On backpacking trips, artists carry all their own gear and supplies and provide their own food and art supplies. The park supplies air taxi transportation, two park staff as guides, back country gear, watercraft and equipment, back country and bear safety training, and bear resistant food containers. Pets are not allowed.

Artists agree to contribute one piece of work/service/product inspired by their residency and to give a talk about their experience at the Morris Thompson Cultural Center in Fairbanks, AK. Artists also agree to make available photos taken during the residency for use by the NPS. Contributed works become park property and are placed on public display or performed within the community. Artists in Residence are classified as National Park Service Volunteers and will be paid a back country per diem of $25.00 per day, approximately $200 total. Selection is based on demonstrated artistic merit, how the proposed work represents the wilderness values of Gates of the Arctic and advances the National Park Service preservation mission, the artist's statement of intent, and the artist's fitness level and back country experience and skills.