Where Are They Now: Jessica Winters
Last week we caught up with Inuit Futures Alumni, Jessica Winters, to hear about what she has been up to since graduating from Memorial University in 2019. Jessica is a scientist, artist, and curator from Nunatsiavut, currently residing in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut, which is located on the northern coast of Labrador.
This summer, Jessica began a full-time position working for the Nunatsiavut Government as the Community Energy Lead, a 3-year position funded through Impact Canada’s Indigenous Off Diesel Initiative which supports Indigenous communities to decrease diesel reliance and transition to more sustainable energy sources. She is doing important work creating energy plans for the five surrounding communities in her area. Previous to this position, she was living in Halifax and working as a project scientist doing acoustic analysis of marine animals.
Jessica Winters and students work on the mural on Frank’s General Store in Makkovik, NL. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters
In mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to close provincial borders, Jessica made the decision to move back to her home town of Makkovik, Nunatsiavut. Jessica was feeling uninspired during the early days of the pandemic, so she decided to channel her energies into a creative outlet over the summer, working on a massive mural project funded by the Nunatsiavut Government department of Education and Economic Development. She conceived of the project as a good way to revitalize the community during these unprecedented and uncertain times. “It brought me back into gear. It was good for me.” The mural depicting the northern landscape, which decorates the walls of Frank’s General Store in Makkovik, was painted by Jessica and four student interns selected with the help of a juried panel. The four students, Jesse James Ford, Seth Ford, Hannah Gear and Michelle Nochasak, carried out the painting of the mural every week from early June through to its completion in August. Being a mentor and a teacher was a new experience for Jessica, who found the project to be incredibly rewarding. “It felt necessary at this point in my career to do something for someone else.”
Jessica Winters, Jesse James Ford, Seth Ford, Hannah Gear, and Michelle Nochasak with the finished mural. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters.
Jessica was among the first cohort of Inuit Futures Ilinniaqtuit, joining the project from its outset in 2018. Before becoming a mentor in her community, Jessica made her curatorial debut under the mentorship of Heather Igloliorte, who leads the Inuit Futures project, and Darryn Doull, former curator of Canadian Art at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Winters and Doull co-curated Nunatsiavut artist Billy Gauthier’s exhibition Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone in 2019. Jessica and Darryn designed all aspects of the exhibition and developed original writing and research for the exhibition didactics. The connections she made with mentors, students and artists on the project were invaluable. “Inuit Futures has connected me with a lot of people that think and see the world the same way I do, which I am very grateful for.”
Jessica kayaking in her home town, Makkovik NL. Jessica has returned to Makkovic since early summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters.
Jessica has a number of exciting projects on the horizon. Here's what we got: She has connected with the First Light Friendship Centre in St. John’s, and has been commissioned to design a room in new overnight accommodations that will be opening soon for patients who have to travel to St. John’s from rural communities for medical care. She has also recently participated in the Nunatsiavut Art & Craft Auction, and is continuing several sewing projects working with a polar bear skin that she recently acquired. Both Jessica’s career as a scientist working in renewable energy and her artistic practice connects to her passion for reclaiming and asserting Inuit sovereignty and stewardship. “We are doing it our way, for us.”
Jessica’s grandmother holding one of Jessica’s recent paintings. Photo courtesy of Jessica Winters.
“Don’t listen to the voice in your head that tells you that you do not belong in a certain space, or that you are not good enough. You belong where you are. You deserve to be where you are.”
Learning from her new experiences as a teacher and mentor in her own community, Jessica offers this advice to the younger generation of Inuit creatives who may be looking to get involved in their own communities: “Don’t listen to the voice in your head that tells you that you do not belong in a certain space, or that you are not good enough. You belong where you are. You deserve to be where you are.”
If you are interested in becoming one of our Inuit Futures Ilinniaqtuit, please visit our contact page to get in touch.