by Suzi Tanski
Internationally acclaimed Yup’ik artist Golga Oscar joins the University of Alaska Fairbanks Kuskokwim Campus in December 2023.
Oscar, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts, creates modern textiles that reflect his cultural identity and ancestry. He explores mediums ranging from leather and skin sewing to grass weaving and walrus ivory and wood carving.
Through Oscar’s knowledge of traditional art forms and sewing skills, he also creates cultural attire. These pieces are a vital visual element in his photographic imagery. His portraits of Indigenous people seek to show the importance of Native heritage and the validity of their existence. He is striving to bring Indigenous ideas and traditions to the Western educational environment.
Oscar’s work is permanently in collections across the United States, including at The Anchorage Museum, the Burke Museum of National History and Culture and the Museum of International Folk Art. His work also has been featured in Vogue magazine several times.
In his new position, Oscar will coordinate and lead community workshops, which allow the community and campus to learn and explore Native art mediums. These new workshops will include sewing piluguqs, weaving grass baskets and sewing qaspeqs.
The Kuskokwim Campus is part of UAF’s College of Rural and Community Development, located in Bethel, Alaska.
