Above (l to r): Allison Akootchook Warden - Iñupiaq Artist; Julie Decker, CEO and Director of the Anchorage Museum; Brian Adams - Iñupiaq Photographer. Warden and Adams make up the creative team "you copy?" which is a collaborative artistic team that will debut "Everybody Will Be a Millionaire!" in 2025. The Anchorage Museum is a partner for the exhibit. Both Warden and Adams received 2018 Rasmuson Individual Artist Fellowships for their work individually and are photographed at here at the 2018 Rasmuson Individual Artist Award Ceremony with Decker.
Description of proposed project:
"Everybody Will Be A Millionaire!" is an installation of staged and natural photography, objects and video and will culminate in a coffee table book of photographs and creative writing. The exhibit will be shown at the Anchorage Museum and will tour to the United Arab Emirates. It is the effort of "you copy?" a collaborative team of Iñupiaq photographer Brian Adams and Iñupiaq installation artist Allison Akootchook Warden.
"Everybody Will Be A Millionaire!" is a phrase that Warden heard in her community of Kaktovik, Alaska in regards to the potential extraction of oil underneath the village, which is located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The exhibit underlines the promises made in the push to drill for oil in Prudhoe Bay in the 1970's, as well as the perceptions that Iñupiaq people hold of the wealth attained by the people in the OPEC Nations in the 70's and today, through oil production.
The exhibit will include a series of staged photographs printed on aluminum sheets, as well as one printed on a curved aluminum pipeline sculpture. The overall installation will incorporate objects and video. The photographs are of modern Iñupiaq people stylized and dressed in clothing worn by people of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the 1970's, as well as Iñupiaq 1970's regalia and clothing worn by the people of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia and the UAE today.
The audiences will be attempting to recognize relatives and friends in the unfamiliar clothing of the staged photographs. The exhibit is expected to debut in 2025 and will tour to an institution in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
"Everybody Will Be A Millionaire!" is a phrase that Warden heard in her community of Kaktovik, Alaska in regards to the potential extraction of oil underneath the village, which is located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The exhibit underlines the promises made in the push to drill for oil in Prudhoe Bay in the 1970's, as well as the perceptions that Iñupiaq people hold of the wealth attained by the people in the OPEC Nations in the 70's and today, through oil production.
The exhibit will include a series of staged photographs printed on aluminum sheets, as well as one printed on a curved aluminum pipeline sculpture. The overall installation will incorporate objects and video. The photographs are of modern Iñupiaq people stylized and dressed in clothing worn by people of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the 1970's, as well as Iñupiaq 1970's regalia and clothing worn by the people of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia and the UAE today.
The audiences will be attempting to recognize relatives and friends in the unfamiliar clothing of the staged photographs. The exhibit is expected to debut in 2025 and will tour to an institution in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Where it is at now:
In 2018, Warden received a Rasmuson Individual Artist Fellowship in the field of New Genre. The intention of the Fellowship is for Warden to do the initial research for "Everybody Will Be A Millionaire!" from July 2018 to July 2019. The research involves Warden and Adams physically travelling to Abu Dhabi to start to form the community relationships and partnerships needed to make this project happen. Warden will also be researching archival 1970's photos from both Alaska's North Slope as well as Nations in the Middle East. Initial clothing from both regions will be bought during this research year.
We are currently reaching out to potential partners in the Middle East, in terms of a Gallery or Museum that will host the exhibit in 2025.
We are currently reaching out to potential partners in the Middle East, in terms of a Gallery or Museum that will host the exhibit in 2025.
How you can help:
You can donate USD $5,000.00 to be included in a special thank you as part of the exhibit openings. The Quyanaqpak! (thank you very much) level gets your name either on a wall or a program, acknowledging your support. You will also be updated on significant steps achieved by the team towards the project's goal.
The Anchorage Museum is a non-profit organization that is able and willing to accept donations from funders, grant agencies, individual donors and beyond. To contact Julie Decker, the CEO and Director of the Anchorage Museum directly, her email is:
If you have archival photos from around 1971 in Alaska during the push to drill for oil in Prudhoe Bay, please contact Warden directly. Also, if you have archival photos from the OPEC Nations during the same time frame, please reach out to Warden directly. She can be reached here: www.allisonwarden.com/contact.html