Travels with the Chairman: Anchorage, Wasilla, and Palmer, Alaska

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Mary Anne Carter recently traveled to Alaska in partnership with the Alaska State Council on the Arts. The visit highlighted several of her priorities for the Arts Endowment: strengthening engagement with Native American, Pacific Islander, and Alaska Native communities; integrating the arts into healing; and expanding access to the arts in rural communities.

In Anchorage, Chairman Carter saw firsthand how deeply arts and culture are woven into the identity, health, and well-being of Alaska Native communities.

At the Calista Education and Culture Foundation, she learned about Yuuyaraq, the “traditional way of being” in the Calista region, which places culture at the heart of community life. At the Alaska Native Heritage Center, staff shared how traditions are being carried forward through workshops that connect master artists with new generations and plans for a new healing monument honoring Alaska Native veterans.

Chairman Carter also explored the role of the arts in the healing and recovery of active-duty service members and veterans. At Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, she visited the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, part of the Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network. Clinic leaders, patients, and creative arts therapists shared how art therapy is helping service members heal, recover, and move forward.

That work extends beyond the clinic and into the wider community. At The Nave, a gathering space and home to artist studios, Chairman Carter learned about the Anchorage Concert Association’s Community Café. The monthly open mic night offers veterans and service members an opportunity to connect with others and incorporate music into their recovery. The café is a two-time Creative Forces Community Engagement grantee.

Chairman Carter then traveled beyond Anchorage to Wasilla and Palmer in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. There, she joined local arts leaders for a conversation about the Arts Endowment’s priorities, grantmaking, and efforts to expand access to the arts in rural communities.

While in Palmer, she visited several places that reflect the area’s cultural life and history, including the Friday Fling, the Palmer Museum, the Colony House Museum, and Big Cabbage Radio, where she joined host Mike Chmielewski for an interview. She also met with Senator Lisa Murkowski and local leaders for a wide-ranging discussion about the Arts Endowment and the importance and impact of Alaska’s cultural sector.

Throughout the trip, artists, arts administrators, community leaders, service members, and veterans demonstrated the many ways the arts strengthen life in Alaska—from preserving cultural traditions and supporting healing to creating spaces where people can gather and connect.

The National Endowment for the Arts extends its heartfelt thanks to the Alaska State Council on the Arts and to everyone who welcomed Chairman Carter, shared their experiences, and made her visit to the Last Frontier so memorable.

Visit the Travels with the Chairman section for more stories as Chairman Carter explores our country’s vibrant arts communities.