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Arts & Culture

Stories about the arts and culture.

New Look for KYUK's "Yup'ik Word of the Week"

By Aleina Tanabe • Jan 2, 2018
Aleina Tanabe / KYUK

The “Yup'ik Word of the Week” program has a new sound and a new look for 2018.


KYUK Stories That Defined 2017

By • Dec 29, 2017
The gray whale killed in the Kuskokwim River is butchered and the meat and blubber distributed to people from up and down the river on Saturday, July 29, 2017.
Katie Basile/KYUK

We’ve come to the end of another year in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and through it all, KYUK has covered the region’s joys, tragedies, institutional development, daily living, and so much in between. Before this year comes to a close, KYUK looks back on the stories that defined 2017.


Museum Looks For Images Of Alaska Aviation

By Johanna Eurich • Dec 21, 2017
Alaska Aviation Museum

Aviation holds bush Alaska together, and the Alaska Aviation Museum wants to present photographs of the state’s aviation facilities from the biggest airport to the tiniest village airstrip in an exhibition called “Tundra Towers.” All it needs is some help from those of us who fly and use cameras.

Sitka Museum Looks For Native Artists

By Johanna Eurich • Dec 20, 2017
Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum

The Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka is looking for Native artists to research and be inspired by the artwork stored in the museum's collections.

Ossie Kairaiuak Wins Fellowship To Hollywood Forum

By Teresa Cotsirilos • Dec 18, 2017
Alaska filmmaker Anna Hoover and composer Phillip "Ossie" Kairaiuak won the GCI-Walter Kaitz Fellowship last week.
Courtesy of GCI.

Last week, GCI awarded a fellowship to two Alaska Native artists in collaboration with the Walter Kaitz Foundation. One of those artists grew up here in Chefornak.

Bethel Couple Returns From Relief Mission To Island Hit By Hurricane Maria

By Teresa Cotsirilos • Dec 12, 2017
Shana Silcott and Tom McCallson spent six weeks in St. Croix and Puerto Rico, helping wherever they could.
Teresa Cotsirilos/KYUK

Last fall, Caribbean island communities were devastated by three of the strongest hurricanes in recorded history. The storms’ 100-mile-per-hour winds crushed buildings and flooded streets. Thousands of people in the region are still homeless, and two Bethel residents decided to do whatever they could to help.

City Of Bethel Enforcing Sales Tax At Saturday Market

By Christine Trudeau • Dec 12, 2017
Saturday Market vendors received a letter this past weekend saying that if they sell at Saturday Market more than five times a year, they have to get a business license and start charging sales tax.
Christine Trudeau / KYUK

Just as they gear up for the holiday season, Saturday Market vendors received a letter this past weekend saying that if they sell at Saturday Market more than five times a year, they have to get a business license and start charging sales tax. While the law has been on the books for some time, Bethel city officials are just beginning to enforce it.

Kwig Kayak Frame Featured In National Museum Exhibition

By Teresa Cotsirilos • Dec 6, 2017
Troy and Ethan Wilkinson build the traditional kayak frame with the help of their father, Bill Wilkinson.
Gaetana DeGennaro/NMAI

Traditional Yup’ik artisanship and acumen are about to gain a national audience.


Artists Receive Major Grant To Explore Homelessness In Y-K Delta

By • Dec 6, 2017
Artists Ryan Romer and Jimmy Riordan have received a $10,000 grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum to explore homelessness in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
Alaska Humanities Forum

Two artists with roots in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are the first recipients of a new, $10,000 grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum.

State Art Collection Acquires Spirit Mask From Emerging Yup'ik Carver

By • Nov 16, 2017
Ben Charles

Walk into a courtroom, a legislative office, the Governor’s Manson, or any public space in Alaska and you’ll find art: masks, paintings, textiles, sculptures. Each piece was created by Alaska artists, curated by the state, and is held in the Alaska Art Bank. The collection recently acquired a Yup’ik mask from Bethel artist Ben Charles. Charles is 34 years old and only began carving in February. KYUK visited Charles at his home studio in Bethel.


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