VOICES OF THE WILDERNESS

2011 INFORMATION

Tongass National Forest

Voices of the Wilderness Program, Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan AK 99901
Residencies open to: Artists and arts professionals in all media – visual (two and three dimensional: photographers, sculptors, painters), audio (musicians, singers, composers), film (video/filmmakers), and writers (poets, fiction, essays, storytellers).
Residency period: July through August; up to nine days each (5 days minimum).
Contact: Lorelei Haukness, e-mail: or 907-228-4102

Artists in Public Lands

Artists have long contributed to the preservation and interpretation of our public lands. Early examples include George Catlin, Albert Beirstadt, and Thomas Moran, whose nineteenth-century paintings inspired pride in America’s wild landscapes and influenced designation of our first national parks.

In subsequent generations, artists used song, photograph, poetry and other mediums to celebrate America’s public lands. Their work demonstrates that artistic expression plays a vital role in connecting people to the natural world.

Now it’s your turn.

Recognizing that today’s artists continue to link people to the land, the Forest Service is sponsoring Voices of the Wilderness, an artist-in-residence program on the Tongass National Forest. The location will be the Misty-Fiords National Monument Wilderness, 22 miles east of Ketchikan. This spectacular 2.2 million-acre wilderness area is remote and wild; a coastal rainforest supporting hundreds of streams and several major river systems. Past glaciations have formed picturesque fjords, such as Walker Cove and Rudyerd Bay, which are surrounded by granite walls rising 3,000 feet above the ocean.

As an artist-in-residence, you will experience the wilderness like few others. Traveling alongside a ranger, you’ll kayak the calm fiords and camp along shorelines. There will be plenty of time to sit back in your camp chair and absorb the wildlife and roaring waterfalls. From your kayak, you might see a bear foraging among intertidal mussels, or seals hauled-out on the ice. On remote beaches, your steps will mingle with the tracks of wolves, bears, birds, maybe even a mink. Along the way, you’ll get a peek at what it’s like to care for the land by sharing time with a ranger.

Your job is to be inspired. Experience the wilderness and use your creative energy to bring its voice back to the community.

Artist-In-Residence

One local artist will be invited to participate in a residency lasting between five and nine days during the summer of 2011. The purpose is to share artwork with the community that conveys the inspirational and other values of wilderness.

The selected artist will accompany a backcountry ranger as a volunteer on a fieldtrip in the Misty-Fiords National Monument Wilderness. Trip length will vary between five and nine days. Transport to the wilderness will be by float plane, motorized boat, or kayak.

Each artist will be provided the same safety training as other volunteers (includes aviation and boat safety, kayak safety, use of radios and satellite phones, and review of Job Hazard Analyses). The Forest Service will provide food, transportation to and from the field, and most camping and kayaking gear.

As a volunteer, each artist will assist with some basic ranger duties, which may include cleaning up campsites, monitoring visitor use, trail maintenance and other generally light duties. However, an emphasis for the artist will be experiencing the wilderness and exploring how to communicate its inspirational qualities through their artwork.

Qualification

Qualifying artists will include visual artists (e.g. painters, photographers, and sculptors), writers, musicians, and storytellers. Selection will be based on artistic merit, Statement of Purpose, ability to camp in a remote location and travel by boat, airplane and sea kayak, and willingness to assist with light ranger duties. In 2011, preference will be given to artists from the Ketchikan area.

Art Work Donations and Presentation

The participant is expected to donate one piece of artwork to the Forest Service for use in publicizing the values of the public lands. Donated artwork should be representative of the Tongass National Forest and communicate its inspirational or other values. Artwork should be delivered to the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District within three months of the residency. Artwork from visual artists should be framed with glass or otherwise prepared for hanging before donation. The artwork will be shared with the public through exhibition, publication, websites, or other means.

Donated pieces will be displayed at the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District and Southeast Alaska Discovery Center. This original work resulting from the residency will be donated to the United States Government and includes publishing and reproduction rights. The artists’ work will be shared with the public through exhibition, publication, websites, or other appropriate means.

Public Presentation


Artists are expected to provide one public presentation within six months of completing their residency, such as a slide lecture, demonstration, or workshop that publicizes the program and connects the community to its public lands. Other examples include a performance, explorative hike, or participation in the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center’s Friday Night Insight programs. The presentation can be tailored to an individual’s medium, interest and experience, but each artist must provide supplies, equipment and logistics for the presentation.


Goals


The goal of the Voices of the Wilderness program is to share the scenic beauty and inspirational values of the Tongass National Forest wilderness areas through the talents and reflections of professional artists. Our long-term goal is to host an art show at The Ketchikan Area Arts & Humanities Council in downtown Ketchikan in 2014 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

How to Apply

Artists must submit application materials and art samples exactly as indicated on the application form. Insufficient, or excess materials, are causes for application rejection, as is an artist’s proposed use of a work already in progress as a residency project.

Calendar

Entries are accepted for the 2011 season; applications must be postmarked on or before April 15th, 2011. Applications postmarked after the deadline will not be considered. A panel of Forest Service employees will select two artists based on artistic merit, the Statement of Purpose, and appropriateness to a national forest residency.Selections will be made by early May.