The Northern Initiative features collaborations with artists and organizations to activate the Museum and the community through events, which feature or enhance life in the North. Through such events, the Museum seeks to encourage contact among visitors, artists, scholars, and Museum staff, and activates Museum spaces in creative ways. We are currently headed into a high-density season of Northern Initiative events, including:

Light Brigade
 September 21
The museum’s glass façade transforms into a stage under the influence of the Light Brigade, a group of artists exploring how light and its absence affect Northerners. Held outdoors, the site-specific, multi-media art performance included aerialists suspended from the museum’s roof, as well as music, lights and film projections.

Snow Screen: A Northern Film Festival November 1
YouTube videos with a Northern theme, curated and shown on the big screen.

Lights Out November 8
A late night at the Museum featuring local artists and performers, with all spaces in the museum activated. Focused on winter and life in the North, the event features films, performance art, dancing, museum tours led by local artists, live music, planetarium shows and more.

We are also anticipating the celebration of Anchorage’s Centennial in 2015 and are partnering with other design and educational organizations to bring contemporary art and design into the dialogue. We have developed Pop-Up 100 in response. This project involves artists and designers working in multiple disciplines, as part of the Museum’s Northern Initiative. It features collaborations with artists and organizations to activate the Museum and the community through "pop-up" events, such as pop-up museums and public spaces or forums, which feature or enhance life in the North. Designers are encouraged to create dynamic new work for public engagement in Museum circulation spaces, and out in the community. In 2015 the emphasis will be a collaboration with the Municipality of Anchorage and the Alaska Humanities Forum in commemorating and offering distinct perspectives of the centennial of Anchorage. Some projects include working with the University of Alaska and the Alaska Design Forum to re-imagine Anchorage’s built environment through workshops, programs, 3-D projections and an exhibition. We will work with Alaska Public Media to document the projects and stimulate discussion through video and other presentations. Works may include temporary installations, live performances, community-action projects, events, presentations and other forms. Pop-up events will also enliven the museum's annual gala, with spontaneous pre-gala "pop-up" events that promote dialogue and community interaction.