REgeneration: issue #2| Light The Match
Meet The Artists
jeff chen 陳奕正
Inside Out Off And On (Page 7)
Jeff Chen 陳奕正 is an Alaska-based multimedia producer. He's a child of Taiwanese immigrants with roots in Ka-gī. As a 2022 recipient of a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award, Jeff is currently creating a photo essay documenting the lives of other Alaskans who also have roots in Taiwan. He lives in Anchorage on Dena'ina lands and works at Native Movement. Jeff has a degree in Broadcast Journalism, minor in Vocal Performance, and a concentration in Environmental Science & Technology from the University of Maryland. Some of his work can be seen on his Instagram account @tan_i_tsing.
phenix waters
Not Ever Again (Page 9)
Phenix Waters grew up in Deep East Texas in a deeply religious family. They experienced some difficult life experiences and has much wisdom to offer about overcoming abuse, trauma, and hardship. Phenix has 2 living children and one deceased due to suicide. Their mission is to help others learn how to recover from trauma, abuse and the challenges hardships bring. Phenix is a member of the LGBTQIA community, an artist and a business owner. They are also Disabled and living with complex post traumatic stress disorder. Phenix hopes to show people that the Disabled are valuable members of society and can do great things. Their hobbies include reading, playing guitar, and enjoying nature. They currently live in Alaska with their two black cats Loki and Gizmo.
Jenny Irene Miller
Where the tundra meets the ocean (Page 11)
Jenny Irene Miller (Inupiaq, b. Nome, Alaska) is an artist working primarily with photography. Her larger portfolio includes works made with sound, video, and sculpture. Jenny’s work focuses on identity, community, place, refusal, and access. Jenny lives and works on Dena'ina Ełnena in Anchorage, Alaska. Jenny holds an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico where she was awarded the Beaumont Newhall/Van Deren Coke Photography Fellowship. She also holds a BFA in Photomedia and a BA in American Indian Studies from the University of Washington. She is a past SITE Santa Fe Scholar, Elizabeth Furber Fellow, and Fulbright Canada Killam Fellow. Her work has been exhibited nationally at the Anchorage Museum, Portland Art Museum, SITE Santa Fe, Penumbra Foundation, Southampton Arts Center, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, the University of New Mexico Art Museum, and more. She has also exhibited internationally at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and CONTACT Gallery, both in Canada and at the Incheon Open Port in South Korea. Jenny is a recipient of awards from the Alaska Humanities Forum, National Geographic, Fulbright Canada, and a Fulbright Canada Killam Fellowship to Canada. Her work has been featured by Inuit Art Quarterly, the New York Times, National Geographic, Canadian Art, Fifth Wheel Press, Forum Magazine, and Lenscratch among others. Jenny’ work can be found in the permanent collection of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. She is represented in New Mexico by Foto Forum Santa Fe. jennyirenemiller.com.
Native Movement, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, & NDN Collective
What The Hands Do, The Heart Learns | Arts In Action (Page 13)
Native Movement supports grassroots-led projects that align with our vision to dismantle oppressive systems for all, and that endeavor to ensure social justice, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and the rights of Mother Earth.
Through education and advocacy Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition mobilizes Fairbanks & Interior Alaska communities toward action to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.
REgeneration: Returning To Balance | Fall 2022
Meet The Artists
Michaela Stith
Welp: Climate Change & Arctic Identities (Page 5)
Michaela Stith is the Climate Justice Director at Native Movement and a Black, mixed- race Alaskan born and raised in Dena’ina Ełnena. She has traveled to all eight Arctic countries working with frontline Indigenous communities about the impacts of climate change. For one and half years Michaela worked at the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat in Tromsø, Norway. This excerpt from her debut book, Welp: Climate Change and Arctic Identities, is set in early 2019 in Tromsø—660 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Grace moore
Sovereign Sun (Page 11)
My name is Grace Moore (she/her) and my Yup’ik name is Agnivan. I am a queer artist who specializes in acrylic painting, wood burning, and beading. I was born and raised on Dena’ina Elana lands (Fairbanks) and left the state to pursue my degree in education on Nuwuvi Southern Paiute Lands (Las Vegas). I find much of my inspiration for my art and creations from my Yup’ik culture and the beautiful lands of Alaska.
Zee The Artivist
Go Back Home (Page 13)
Aloha! I’m ‘Zee the Artivist’! BIPOC artist. Just turned 24. Born & raised in Hawaii, I’ve been in Alaska since 2015, so now I’m a full time mom raising a son in Anchorage, Alaska. I have always grew up with the love of art and it being my anchor point of who I am. I truly bloomed from being an artist when I did my first ever art showcase at Covenant House Alaska First Fridays, where homeless youth express themselves through any medium of art. So since 2018, I have hung my art in tattoo shops, coffee shops, and dispensaries. I believe I am an activist as much as I am an artist. They are one of the same coin.
Brittany Woods-Orrison
Healing Myself Heals The Land (Page 15)
Brittany is Koyukon Dené from Rampart, Alaska; a village along the Yukon River. She grew up spending summers in the village learning how to live off the land with no running water and spending the winter in the city of Fairbanks going to school. For high school she decided to attend a state-run boarding school in Sitka, Alaska with students from every region. After having a successful student athlete career in high school, she continued this journey with the women’s wrestling team at Menlo College where she earned a psychology degree. Brittany ended up in a culinary career in the Bay Area of California post-graduation during the pandemic. Brittany saved money from this job to go on a year-long endeavor to roadtrip across the country to reconnect with relatives, uplift Indigenous stories, and learn about the land and waters people come from. During this roadtrip Brittany secured a career in telecommunications as a broadband advocate with two Alaskan non-profits. Brittany has since returned to Alaska to champion digital equity, join back into community, return to the culture, and reconnect with living off the land again.
Jessi Thornton
Protect The Herring (Page 17)
Jessica Thornton (she/they) is an artist, printmaker, designer and arts organizer. She was born in Ȧbo, Finland, raised in the Netherlands, and she currently lives on Ahtna and Dena’ina lands in Palmer, Alaska. Her art practice has evolved from her many years as a community organizer and is deeply tied to the social and environmental justice movements that she supports. Alongside her personal art practice, she also works as the Arts in Action Coordinator for Native Movement, where she focuses on building capacity for Arts in Action across Alaska.
For more information about Native Movement, please visit: nativemovement.org. For more information about Jessica's personal work, please visit jessicathorntondesigns@gmail.com or her instagram @jessicathorntondesigns.
Sean Enfield
God Is A Moshpit (Page 19)
Sean Enfield is a writer and educator. He received his Bachelor’s in Literature at the University of North Texas and a MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. His writing grapples with race, education, culture, and identity, and has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, Edible Alaska, and in a number of print and online literary journals, all of which can be found at seanenfield.com.