January 31 through September 27, 2026
Sixty years ago, the Native Art Center was founded in response to a need, as is often
the case, to preserve, teach, and extend the living arts of ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Native cultures.
From the beginning and under the guidance of Ron Senungetuk, the Center has grown
into a place where lineage and innovation, tradition and experimentation, elders and
students all share a space. Creative Continuum honors this complex, living history.
The Native Art Center at the University of ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Fairbanks is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and advancement of ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Native art and culture. The Center provides a dynamic and inclusive environment where students can explore traditional and contemporary art forms, ensuring the continuation of ancestral knowledge while fostering innovation.
Owl Mask, 2010, Kathleen Carlo-Kendall.
Umealiq, 2009, by Ronald W. Senungetuk.
Moose Mother, 2022, by Sky Roehl
This exhibition is not simply a look back through the public and private collections. It is both an acknowledgement of what has been, with its triumphs, struggles, and transformations, and a way forward, engaging how Native artists, mentored by those who came before, are shaping what comes next. In putting together this retrospective, I have thought deeply about mentorship: how a moment of teaching, a shared tool, or a conversation in the Center can ripple out in unexpected ways.
The real heart of the Native Art Center has always been its students. What I am most proud of is not only their works, but that many have gone on to teach, to lead, to carry their cultures outward into their communities, schools, galleries, and museums. I am also struck by the family connections throughout the years as generations have moved through the Center.
Da-ka-xeen Mehner
This exhibition has been made possible with the generous support of Explore ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ, Carol and Terence Choy, the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Airlines, and Advance Printing.
