Most important aspects of the Hugh McPeck Gallery at UAA:

-Professional development opportunity for art students
-Community engagement to strengthen the bond between  campus and community
-Aids with up keeping well-being and mental health of students who find their voice through art
-Losing the gallery would be a loss of cultural activities that UAA student-paid fees no longer support

University of Alaska Anchorage Arts students recently learned that Student Activities is removing funding for the Hugh McPeck Gallery. The Hugh McPeck Gallery is named for former UAA Sculpture Professor Hugh McPeck who passed away in 2014. It hosts annual national and regional exhibit opportunities for art majors, degree- and non-degree seeking students, and community members enrolled in the Arts- all students who pay into the UAA Consolidated Student Fee. 

 The UAA Consolidated Student Fee’s purpose is ‘to ensure that students receive a well-rounded educational experience that goes beyond the classroom, enhancing the co-curricular experience and improving the quality of campus life’. This is no longer true for the 640 currently-enrolled students in the Visual Arts or the UAA Arts community. The gallery is our venue for professional development. These exhibitions and events allow us to develop our professional skills as working artists by curating, hanging, and showing our creative research to the public eye. It is a chance for us to work with gallery coordinators, develop leadership through planning events, and receive feedback by having our work juried. This gallery is the only opportunity undergraduate art students have to receive awards and recognition for their creative research and work. It represents real-world experience that is invaluable in pursuing a career in the Arts. 

 Furthermore, this centrally located gallery enhances all UAA students’ educational and cultural experiences by giving us the chance to tangibly experience art, connect with artists through lectures and juried shows, or even by simply stopping by an exhibition on our way to class. The loss of this centrally-located gallery space will be a major blow for the UAA art community and Anchorage at large. 

 As students, we invest an immense amount of  time, effort, and personal experience into our work and we deserve the opportunity to show our pieces in a professional setting on campus. Working as a professional artist can be scary and difficult; this gallery is a space that allows us to take our first steps into the professional sphere and get authentic feedback from the community and our peers. It gives us a space to engage with visiting artists and jurors who share their own career experiences through lecturers and one-on-one discussions. The funding cut will strongly hinder our ability to showcase as art professionals and make names for ourselves in the Alaska art community and beyond.

 We urge the University of Alaska Anchorage to invest in the future of students and restore funding from Student Activities towards the Hugh McPeck Gallery. Please look at the bigger picture and think about how this gallery is part of UAA’s legacy, a legacy that supports creative research, critical thinking, and professional development.

Signing this petition helps us show UAA authorities just how many people feel strongly that this decision should be reconsidered as soon as possible. Using your voice is supporting current students, future students, and the longevity of the thriving creative and cultural landscape of UAA’s campus.