On June 20 at 7:00 PM, American photographer Ben Huff will meet with the Russian audience online to talk about what drew him to Alaska’s complex history and how through his photographs he explores the state’s remote beauty, its proximity to Russia, as well as its rich indigenous culture.

In conversation with curator, designer, and author Sarah Asper-Smith, Ben Huff will share how his artistic search for the Alaskan frontier led him to the discovery of its exploited landscapes and how his photographic odysseys of the state create a melancholy portrait that asks us to reconsider our perception of frontier, what we value, and what we bring to the space.

“In 2005, my wife and I moved to Fairbanks, Alaska,

and it kind of blew my whole world up.

Photography at its core is nothing more than

the record of light reflecting off the surface.

It’s all of the other stuff that makes it complicated.”

- Photographer Ben Huff

Ben Huff is an American artist and photographer from the Midwest, currently living in Juneau, Alaska. He was an artist-in-residence at Lightwork, in Syracuse, New York, in 2014, awarded a Rasmuson Fellowship in 2016, and received Alaska Humanities Forum grants in 2015 and 2016. His first monograph, The Last Road North, was published by Kehrer Verlag in 2015. His book Atomic Island was published by Fw:Books in early 2022. Huff has exhibited his photographs widely in Alaska, as well as the lower United States. He is the founder and editor of the independent publisher Ice Fog Press where he publishes hand-made books by other photographers, adding to the discussion of the idea of the North. He is currently working on a long-term project, called The Light That Got Lost, with a group of student scientists on the Juneau Icefield. 

Sarah Asper-Smith established ExhibitAK in 2010 after years of working independently and collaboratively as a curator, exhibit designer, and graphic designer in museums in different parts of Alaska. A lifelong Juneauite, Sarah came back to Alaska after receiving her MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning and Design because she saw a need for Alaskans to help tell Alaskan stories. This has included working on: co-curatorial exhibit development for the Alaska State Museum in Juneau; multiple traveling exhibitions to rural Alaska with the Katirvik Cultural Center; exhibition design and rebranding for the Kodiak History Museum; and the traveling exhibit Illustrating Alaska; Artists Making Children’s Books. In addition to her museum exhibition design work, Sarah has written four children’s books, Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?, I Would Tuck You In, You Are Home With Me, and I Would Teach You to Fly. She and her husband make their home up 100 stairs in downtown Juneau. When she’s not cooking a delicious meal or walking the beaches with her dog, she can often be found working at her long dining table.

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ALL AMERICAN CENTER IN MOSCOW EVENTS ARE FREE OF CHARGE / ВСЕ МЕРОПРИЯТИЯ АМЕРИКАНСКОГО ЦЕНТРА В МОСКВЕ БЕСПЛАТНЫ

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Tune in to watch this livestreamed conversation on the American Center in Moscow’s YouTube channel and VK page on June 20, 2022, at 7:00 PM Moscow time.

You can register below and leave your valid email address to receive a reminder 30 minutes before the online event begins on June 20, 2022, at 7:00 PM MSK.

To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center’s website and TimePad calendars.

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