The program specifically focuses on artists who reside in rural parts of Alaska to provide opportunities for communities that typically have fewer available resources, and where the cost of engaging in art activities can be expensive due to the difficulty of obtaining supplies. By creating a cohort of rural ARTShops leaders each year, the program also supports artist peer-to-peer networking to help artists feel connected to other creatives. 

A hallmark of the ARTShops program is the intimate nature of the work. Many of the projects take place with extended families and in their homes or subsistence camps. In the first year of the ARTShops program, the late Teri Rofkar shared her knowledge of spruce root weaving with her granddaughter, daughter and mother in Sitka. For Michelle Ravenmoon’s project, she worked with her sister, Marlene Tilly, to harvest fresh water seals and practice making Lake Iliamna-style parkas with other women in her community. Rochelle Adams worked with her children to build a fishwheel on the banks of the Yukon River. Historically, Alaska’s arts were passed on within family groups, and the ARTShops program encourages sustaining and reclaiming this way of sharing knowledge.

While all ARTShops programs focus on artmaking, participating artists incorporate other cultural activities into their projects. Laresa Syverson integrated Unangam Tunuu (the language of the Unangax̂ people) into her fishskin boot project. Rochelle Adam’s project took place with immersion Gwich’in language during a Native Language Technical Institute. Lena Snow Amason-Berns’ project involved making Alutiiq “cellphones” which she incorporated into choreography for her dance group in Old Harbor, Alaska. 

Other ARTShops artists have incorporated subsistence activities into their projects. Bobby Itta’s project included harvesting and processing marine mammals to gather materials for making mukluk bottoms. Apay’uq Moore harvested and braided beach grass for weaving while engaging in subsistence fishing with her family in Bristol Bay. These harvesting activities are important to maintain so that future generations continue to access the knowledge that is needed to harvest and process materials used in art making.

ARTShops activities provide opportunities for bringing people together to support community-building. In a report about her parka-making project, Michelle Ravenmoon shared, “It was peaceful to watch the ladies interact and fall into a time-old tradition of gathering together, working on a community project, and enjoying themselves. We could have been gathered a hundred years ago, and it would be no different in our discussions. We told stories, laughed, and shared about our loved ones as we sewed. Many of the women said that this needs to happen more often. We remembered how important gathering and working together is.” Lily Hope shared that for her Chilkat weaving project participants “started meeting once every weekend. We grew as artists, as humans, embracing apprehensions in Chilkat weaving, finding balance in our lives when all we wanted to do was weave. Building comradery and continuing this art form that has been practiced for centuries.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, some ARTShops projects took place over Zoom, and others continued with artists working in artist bubbles. 

Nominations for the ARTShops program are accepted year-round. People with recommendations for emerging artist leaders in Alaska are invited to reach out to the CIRI Foundation to share their nominations, or to read personal stories about past ARTShops leaders’ projects.