Hugh McPeck Gallery to shut down

There are currently three galleries at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus: The Kimura Gallery, which showcases contemporary art in the Fine Arts Building. The Arc Gallery, which features emerging, mid-career and established Alaskan artists in the Consortium Library. And finally, the Hugh McPeck Gallery.

The Hugh McPeck Gallery is a walk-in gallery dedicated to showcasing juried student art exhibits on the second floor of the Student Union. 

The gallery is a space where students can showcase their art to the Anchorage community as they walk through the center of campus.

Formerly known as the Student Union Gallery, its name was changed to the Hugh McPeck Gallery in 2017 to honor the art professor after his passing.

Art student Rebecca Lent wrote, “The Hugh McPeck gallery has been a lovely, supportive and important space for myself and other art majors to practice professionally showcasing our work.”

The Northern Light spoke with Executive Director of Student Engagement Kim Morton, to learn more about the decision to shut down the gallery.

Morton stated that the gallery has been fully funded by student activities fees and is staffed under her department. Each year, an amount of money from the funding is allocated to the gallery.

However, rising costs and student enrollment-based funding causes the gallery’s funding to fluctuate each year.

Earlier this year, Student Activities realized they would be unable to continue dedicating the same amount of funds toward the gallery. 

“This isn’t about, like, cutting the budget,” said Morton. “It’s about the way in which there is funding availability through the student activities fee to fund opportunities for all students on campus, and contribute to the student engagement experience.”

The gallery is expected to shut down in the next academic year, as Student Activities has committed to hosting three shows this semester. 

The next Juried Student Art Show will host its opening reception at the Hugh McPeck Gallery on March 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and prize winners will be announced. The exhibit will be open through April 24, 2025. 

The Juror’s lecture and discussion will be in the Fine Arts Building in Room 150 on Wednesday, March 26, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at which, a discussion and announcement of art pieces to be displayed will be announced.

“It has been a fantastic space for us to have in the building,” said Morton. 

The Hugh McPeck Gallery is the only gallery that falls under Student Activities. The other two galleries are run by the Department of Art.

Morton said there is still discussion about what will happen with the space the gallery currently occupies. There has also been discussion about the space becoming a merchandise store. 

According to Morton, a facility space planning committee and the Campus Services team will determine the use of the space after the gallery is vacated. Discussions are still in progress.

According to an email sent to The Northern Light by Department of Art Chair Steve Godfrey, the department is looking for possible donors to fund future student exhibitions.

“We are planning to have more student focused exhibitions in the Arc Gallery,” wrote Godfrey.

However, this change will not take place until fall 2026, due to an exhibition schedule that is already set for the 2025-26 academic year.

For now, Godfrey said the only exhibition that will feature student art in the next academic year will be at the BFA Exhibition at the Kimura Gallery in spring 2026.

A petition was posted on Monday afternoon, March 24, by art student Jessica Brevard and her peers. The petition is described as a way for students to express the importance they feel toward the gallery, urging the university and Student Activities to restore the gallery’s funding. 

The Northern Light reached out to Brevard for comment.

“Many student artists find their voice through their work, and the Hugh McPeck Gallery is where their work gets to speak to the community,” Brevard wrote. “This space supports cultural activities for all on campus and the community.”

Brevard continued, stating the importance of power in numbers and signing this petition, to show the university students' feelings regarding the gallery.

“It seems that UAA was trying to sweep this funding cut under the rug and shut the gallery down without anyone noticing. We noticed; and we won’t be quiet about it,” wrote Brevard.