We Love Design
The Alaska Design Forum (ADF) is a non-profit organization of architects, artists, and designers formed to broaden the range of discussion of design and the built environment.
As an educational group, ADF presents programs that expose the community to leading edge design and art ideas and encourage discussion on the relevance of these ideas to life and design in our state.
Multi-City Reach
We have active chapters in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, and have also presented programs in other Alaskan locations. Almost all lecturers we bring to Alaska speak in both Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
We make a great effort to have our programs accessible to those who are not close to our active chapters, which in a state with such a dispersed audience is no small feat. An example of this is maintaining an ever-expanding video library (of the lectures we present).
History
The ADF was founded in 1992 as a non-profit organization of architects, artists, and designers formed to broaden the range of discussion of the design of the built environment. See full list of past lectures, exhibitions and other programs. The goal of the ADF is to motivate people to discuss, think, and ultimately act to create a built environment that inspires the soul and protects the body.
Alaska is in a unique geographic, climatic and social setting. We as individuals and as a community constantly strive to develop a unique and appropriate design response.
As an organization, we encourage the discussion of design in various forums. The core of our program is the annual lecture series. Each year, we present between six and eight lectures – by nationally and internationally recognized architects, designers and artists – in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau.
Accomplishments
- Presented ‘Fly by Design’ tour of Iceland, connecting travelers with artists, designers and architects through studio and guided tours.
- Recognized as a recipient of the AIA Collaborative Achievement Award (2010) and the Mayor’s Arts Awards (2006).
- Commissioned original art installations and artist-in-residence programs.
- Presented avant-garde performances of dance and music.
- Sponsored design competitions, including “Imagine Anchorage.”
- Published Simultaneous Landscapes, a journal of Alaska design and culture.
- Promoted informal discussion groups, which has been codified as our Third Tuesdays program.
- Organized workshops and forums of particular relevance to the north.
