Discipline: Humanities

Golga Oscar, a Yup’ik artist from Southwest Alaska, creates work that reflects Yup’ik identity in both traditional and modern forms. Influenced by his Yup’ik ancestors and Indigenous artists across Turtle Island, Oscar is a self-taught artist who has crafted a variety of garments, including footwear and headwear.

Living in a Western society, he challenges perceptions of what a Yup’ik lifestyle looks like. Oscar also focuses on digital art, such as graphic design and digital photography. Through an Indigenous perspective, his goal is to Indigenize Western spaces, fostering an environment that welcomes current and future Native artists while addressing the ongoing challenges of Western assimilation.

Discipline: Music

Through his work, Gordon Sasaki expands the limits of disability. He creates opportunity to engage with disability that is simultaneously challenging and beautiful. Using his own wheelchair as a “”still-life”” motif he creates life-size paintings that redefine disability as a rich resource of creative energy and cultural iconography.

Curatorial and Administrative Assistant, Firehouse Art Center