Arts and Entertainment

Students team up on mural at UAA

A new mural was unveiled at Gorsuch Commons at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Wednesday. The 8-by-10-foot piece is composed of 16 interlocking panels executed by 16 different artists.

The design is "connected to the UAA map," said project organizer Levi Werner. "The concept behind it is that the panels seemingly come from disparate styles. That accentuates the fact that there are multiple perspectives that make up UAA as a whole."

Work took place over the summer and involved a number of people in addition to the 16 artists. But the project got started about a year ago, Werner said, at a meeting of the UAA Art Students Association. One of the participants at the meeting, Samuel Gonzalez, was an artist as well as a student employee with campus housing, the complex where the commons serve as a meeting area and cafeteria.

"He brought it to my attention that establishing a partnership with housing had the potential to bring funds into the club," Werner said. "He also suggested it could become a recurring thing."

Werner said he hopes that arrangements can be made so that art students produce annual murals in the future.

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham was a longtime ADN reporter, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print. He retired from the ADN in 2017.

ADVERTISEMENT