What's my Inua
2016
Drew Michael
Anchorage, Alaska
Artworks shown are selected from works submitted by the artist in their grant or residency application. All works are copyright of the artist or artist’s estate.
About Drew Michael
Drew Michael was born in Bethel, Alaska, and raised in Eagle River, Alaska. He started his art career at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in 1997 in a carving class with Joe Senungetuk. From there his career has developed through the study of other artists' work and his own experimentations. Michael’s work was featured in recent solo exhibitions at Stonington Gallery, Seattle, WA; Alaska Humanities Forum, Anchorage, AK; and Homer Bunnell Street Gallery, Homer AK. Group exhibitions include Alaska Exhibition, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France; Our Story, at the Anchorage Museum; Knock on Wood, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA; among many other exhibitions and showcases throughout Alaska and the American Northwest.
Program Participation
Painters & Sculptors Grant, 2017
Website / Social Links
Most cultures around the world use masks and other visual arts to tell stories about the origin of man, the creation of the World, spirits unseen, events of transformation, and the aspirations of lives that reflect our belief in higher selves. I began creating replicas of old time masks that were seen as ‘traditional’ Alaskan Native art. I soon realized I wanted to tell my story through this visual form and connect to the old ritual of mask making found in my blood and cultures of the Yup’ik and Inupiaq peoples.”
