The Juneau Community Foundation (JCF) continues to support creative local artists and products that enrich the community’s cultural scene.
JCF announced the recipients of its Arts Vibrancy Endowment – 2026 Artist Awards, which provides funding to individual artists or groups to support the creation of original, impactful work across all art forms.
The two-and-a-half-month application period came to a close on Aug. 15, which saw a record number of applications come in. Six projects were selected, and grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 were awarded to artists pursuing music, Tlingit beadwork, documentary filmmaking, theater, pigment making, and photography.
Juneau Alaska Music Matters (JAMM), in collaboration with JAMM school sites, local indigenous organizations, and Carnegie Hall, will conduct a community-wide lullaby project over the 2026-2027 school year. Songster, artist, and storyteller George Holly will work with Juneau families to composer lullabies that reflect family, cultural values, and words of encouragement that parents would like to pass along to their children.
“Local composer and musician, Elena Levi, will work with Holly to orchestrate lullabies for JAMM musicians, teaching artists, and local musicians to perform and record,” JCF stated. “Local sound engineer and videographer, Josh LaBocca, will help produce tracks and a music video.”
The video will be published on YouTube after a live premiere at Carnegie Hall in May of 2027.
Renee Culp will continue her work on an original contemporary Lingit beaded button robe, building upon her work during her Sealaska Heritage Institute Artist Residency. She will develop the robe over a nine-month period while advancing her practice in large-scale Northwest Coast beadwork.
JCF says her beadwork reflects movement, form, and narrative.
“Each piece is thoughtfully constructed using traditional teachings and stories,” JCF added. “Her work will carry stories forward, strengthen connections, invite reflection, and support cultural knowledge in both everyday life and ceremonial spaces.”
Filmmaker Scott Burton will help teach Juneau’s next generation of documentary filmmakers and increase local opportunity for networking and mentorship. He will use grant funding to participate in a collaborative film residency with one of the world’s leading documentary filmmakers, which will include artistic mentorship, draft development, and possible presentations at a major film festival.
Bostin Christopher will be producing Theater Alaska’s production of Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, a play about faith, doubt, conviction, and how beliefs can fracture people and their relationships. The play will be performed in several churches across Juneau.
“Grant funding will help with the significant audio demands of this production, which will use microphones creatively as a tool for expressing both inner and outer thoughts,” JCF stated. “As is characteristic of Theater Alaska’s work in community spaces, there will be post-show dialogue about the themes of the show, increasing the impact of the performance.”
Matural pigment and watercolor artist Christine Carpenter will be creating an online pigment library, allowing Alaskans to see how their natural surroundings can be transformed into usable paints and dyes. The Alaska Pigment Project is a multi-phase initiative that encompasses field foraging, studio color extraction, and the creation of an online color database mapping Alaska botanical pigments.
JCF says that the project will establish the digital infrastructure needed to elevate physical foraging and studio research into a lasting and accessible resource.
Damon Stuebner will be the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s artist for January 2027, showcasing her photography exhibit Dusk to Dawn which features original photographs of Juneau’s changing night skies, accompanied by a selection of facts, quotes, and poems to help viewers think about human relationships to nature.
“This project will encapsulate a community relationship with nature,” JCF stated. “We’re all under the same skies, but we all see something different.”
Now in its seventh year, the JCF’s Artist Awards program has awarded $124,000 to 33 Juneau artists. Funding is made possible by the generosity of local individuals and businesses.
“Their support allows the Arts Vibrancy Endowment to grow, helping the foundation respond to the evolving needs of artists and the broader arts and culture landscape in Juneau,” JCF added.
