Travel
The Anchorage Alaska Art Scene
February 4, 2015 by admin · Leave a Comment
Anchorage has a rich cultural scene, informed by a history of native people and the natural world. Denali State Park and the surrounding area hold human settlements that date back 11,000 years, and the climate and shifting lights of Alaska make for some interesting sights and sounds. Anchorage festivals are frequent and lively, like a never ending party in the snow.
The Alaskan Center for the Performing Arts is a massive complex divided into three parts. 3,000 people can watch a performance there at once, and at its peak the Center held 678 performances in a single year. Eight performing arts companies claim residence there, and visiting companies arrive frequently for large musicals and well-known plays. Les Miserables, Disney’s The Lion King and Mamma Mia have all been staged there.
The site is also home to the International Ice Carving Contest. Large blocks of ice become elaborate works of art, sometimes offering several sculptures arranged as a set piece. The results are left up through the Town Square Winter Center, and some are spread throughout Anchorage. The lighting and transparency give each an eerie glow that tends to stick with visitors.
The Anchorage Folk Festival is an annual event held in January where concerts and workshops teach tourists and locals about native life, and celebrate the roots of Anchorage. The whale bones that mark the Alaska Native heritage Center signify an educational institute. This establishment tracks 11 different indigenous peoples from Anchorage and the state of Alaska.
About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or Twitter.