7 / Artist profile Natasha Webster

FOr artist Natasha Webster, a CertaiN kiND OF iNteraCtiON sParks a sPeCial kiND OF JOy. these are the mOmeNts WheN kiDs stOP tO WatCh her PaiNt, Or PeOPle Pause tO COmmeNt ON the sPeCiFiC subJeCts OF her WOrk.

“Seeing their faces and their reactions, and hearing people say, ‘Oh, we want to see more Black art in Alaska,’ or ‘My children, they see someone that looks like them doing art, and they love art’ — it melts my heart every single time,” Webster said. “Those are moments that are so priceless, because it is often that — particularly in a space like a museum or gallery, unless you’re in a community that has had the resources and the history to create these spaces — our children won’t see it. They won’t see people like them, they won’t see paintings that look like them and that tell their story.”

Webster aims to change that.

A self-trained painter and poet, she’s one of the acclaimed young Black artists whose influence has begun to reverberate throughout Alaska art and culture. Her work focuses on issues of human justice, social justice, mental health, women’s rights and empowerment, driven by a passion for positive change, equality and affording opportunities for those who may be underestimated. Her paintings have been displayed in Alaska and Outside; she’s taught classes, served as a virtual artist-inresidence at the Anchorage Museum, and as a member of an advisory panel for the museum’s 2021 exhibit “Black Lives in Alaska: Journey, Justice, Joy.”

The exhibit, on view through Feb. 13, 2022, features archival photos and collected materials showcasing the richness and resilience of Black lives in Alaska; corresponding events included a family art class and a panel discussion with local artists. Working with Webster on new programs for museum audiences was “a gift,” said Community Outreach Archivist Julie Varee.

“She just has this great perspective that she brings to anything,” Varee said. “She’ll have an idea, and then she’s able to explain it in a way that is accessible to non-artists, and it’s always this fresh, interesting vision.”

It comes from a lifetime of experience, a deep well of curiosity and a growing network of community.

Raised in a military family, Webster grew up in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and beyond, traveling to places across America and around the world, exploring new ways of creative expression along the way. As a child she sang, wrote songs, doodled, colored, made up skits, and later fell in love Party of One | 36 in x 48 in Acrylic, oil pastels and art marker on gallery wrapped canvas 6 August 2021 | 61°north

Having autHentic artwork and actually reflecting my community — it gives people a space to say, ‘ok, it’s not just me.'

with art after taking a class in high school, she said. But she went on to study sociology and her professional career turned to social work, the field that eventually brought her to Alaska in 2014.

The state shaped and sharpened her focus in more ways than one. She started experimenting with new materials and mediums, and her experiences in social work — and as a Black woman in the workplace — began to weigh heavily in her art. Her pieces shifted from “super abstract” creations to pointed, poignant reflections of lived experience.

“I either worked in certain situations that shone a light on those issues needing to be addressed, or I witnessed and experienced certain things that made me want to say, ‘I’ve experienced this, I’ve seen this, how can I express either my understanding of it, or a solution to the problem?’” Webster said.

For inspiration, she looked to other Black artists, in Alaska and then nationwide: Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Jean-Michel Basquiat. She found similarities in their struggles and passions and hopes for a better community; they galvanized her to keep painting about things that matter, issues of injustice and individual impacts of racism, “things that are hard to talk about.”

“It was trying to find a voice in a chaotic environment that really, really informed who I was inspired by — certain artists who do talk about the injustices that minorities endure,” Webster said. “I feel like it helped me to express those things in a productive, creative way, but also to show other people, in a creative way, ‘You’re not alone.’”

Art opened the door to new connections in Alaska. Along with Anchorage artist Vonnie Gaither, Webster helped plant the seeds for the grassroots collective African American Artists of Alaska. Together, they created their own spaces. Webster built out her own website (tashawebster.com) to host and sell her art, and shared her work via pop-up events in various Anchorage venues. She sold her first large original work during a show in the lobby of a local yoga studio; she participated in First Friday exhibits and live painting shows, and felt energized every time someone paused to watch, to absorb, to connect.

“Having authentic artwork and actually reflecting my community — it gives people a space to say, ‘Ok, it’s not just me,’” Webster said.

That kind of representation has a ripple effect throughout the community. When it came to “Black Lives in Alaska,” Webster’s ideas included a skin tone-inspired color scheme proposal, complete with Fenty Beauty makeup swatches as examples, museum staff said: The proposal was embraced by the group and incorporated into the final exhibit, introducing warm new shades to the previously austere white walls of the museum itself. The idea was innovative and poetic and political, bringing new meaning to the concept of representation, the chief curator said.

“She’s a really great example of a young artist in an active role around organizing and carving out space,” DuBrock said. “Young artists need role models like (that) … she’s a great role model for younger folks.”

Webster dreams of one day having a space of her own; a gallery to share her ideas and artwork in a permanent venue.

“I just want to create,” she said. “To create from a space of freedom, to express my voice without filters ... to continue to inspire other young people of color that they can do it, too.”