International Perspectives: Nuuk Nordic Cultural Festival 2023

Cheeky and Jason Sikoak (Ilinniaqtuk Alumni) look out towards Nuuk, Greenland, May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Close-up view of a paintbrush as artists complete the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia mural project as part-of the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph: Bronson Jacque.

Poster for the Nuuk Nordic Festival 2023. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph: Danielle Miles.

View of the exhibition, Stitching Together, part-of the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph: Bronson Jacque.

Photograph of Ilinniaqtuit alumni, Jason Sikoak, with their hand beside the Bronson Jacque and Jessica Winter’s sticker designed for Inuit Futures at the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Danielle Miles.

His excellency the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Denmark, Denis Robert, pictured with artists, curators and Inuit Futures Mentors and Ilinniaqtuit at the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Ilinniaqtuit Yvonne Moorhouse. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Iniut Futures ilinniaqtuit and alumni, Bronson Jacque, Jason Sikoak, Jessica Winters and Yvonne Moorhouse, pictured with the director of Nuuk Nordic Festival, Jonas Nilsson and mural artist Cheeky. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq / Pijariuqsarniq Project and the Inuit Art Foundation were pleased to co-organize International Perspectives: Nuuk Nordic Cultural Festival, where a delegation of artists, curators, students, programmers, and other arts professionals from Canada attended this year's festival in Nuuk, Greenland. The group included an exciting cohort of leading emerging and mid-career Northern Indigenous artists whose work - including digital media arts, virtual reality, painting, performance, music, installation, conceptual art and more - was exhibited throughout the festival. The theme of the Nuuk Nordic Festival this year was Unity with the overall aim of the festival to offer multimodal programming involving audience in co-creation and participation.

His excellency the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Denmark, Denis Robert hosted the festival’s Canadian delegation, including the Inuit Futures and IAF International Perspectives group at a welcome reception in their honour.

Here are some of the exciting events and projects we participated in and brought to Nuuk:

Mini Conference, Panels and Artist talk

Inuit Futures participated in various panels and talks over the course of the festival. Hosted by the Nuuk Art Museum, Inuit Futures were invited to the Reflecting Nuuk Nordic Stage to share their knowledge on various panels with artists, curators, writers, community members and leaders from across the circumpolar world. Inuit Futures Director, Dr. Heather Igloliorte and Executive Director of the Inuit Art Foundation and Inuit Futures Mentor Alysa Procida, presented on the panel “Art, Communities and Associations.” Inuit Futures’ Ilinniaqtuit and artist, Bronson Jacque and artist Krystle Silverfox joined other artists to discuss “Art and Activism” and Inuit Futures Mentor, Reneltta Arluk, spoke on the panel “Conversations on Community and the Importance of Coming Together.”

Inuit Futures Ilinniaqtuit, Alumni and Mentors also participated in the Expanding Cultural Collaboration in the Arctic and Nordic Region mini conference and workshop.

In conjunction with the installation Stitching Together, curators Dr. Heather Igloliorte and Alysa Procida, facilitated an artist talk hosted at the Nuuk Art Museum with the exhibition’s featured artists Kablusiak, Kaylyn Baker and Krystle Silverfox.

Bronson Jacque and Krystle Silverfox at the Reflecting Nuuk Nordic Stage for a talk on “Art and Activism” as part-of the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 28, 2023. Photograph: Danielle Miles.

Executive Director of the Inuit Art Foundation and Inuit Futures Mentor Alysa Procida, Inuit Futures Director Dr. Heather Igloliorte, alongside Kablusiak, Kaylyn Baker and Krystle Silverfox during the artist talk, “Art, Communities and Associations” for the exhibition, Stitching Together, part-of the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Danielle Miles.

Inuit Futures Mentor, Reneltta Arluk, speaks during a panel on “Conversations on Community and the Importance of Coming Together” as part-of the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Danielle Miles.

Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia Mural Project

Ilinniaqtuit Jessica Winters, Bronson Jacque, Yvonne Moorhouse, Jason Sikoak and local Nuuk artists, Malik Chemnitz and Cheeky, collaborated on a mural at the façade of the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia, the National Library. This mural is a celebration of artistic collaboration, celebrating the waters that connect us all and the spirit of storytelling together.

Artists of the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia mural for the Nuuk Nordic Festival included Ilinniaqtuit, Bronson Jacque, Jason Sikoak, Jessica Winters and Yvonne Moorhouse alongside local artists Malik Chemnitz and Cheeky. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Ilinniaqtuit Bronson Jacque and Yvonne Moorhouse paint part-of the mural at the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Sacha.

Ilinniaqtuit alumni, Bronson Jacque, Jason Sikoak and Jessica Winters begin the mural at Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Sacha.

Preparing the mural wall at the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Sacha.

Mural at the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia for the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Sacha.

Mural at the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia for the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Ilinniaqtuit alumni, Jessica Winters paints the mural at the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia for the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Ilinniaqtuit Jason Sikoak and Yvonne Moorhouse prepare paint for the mural at Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia for the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Ilinniaqtuit alumni, Bronson Jacque at the mural at Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Ilinniaqtuit alumni, Jessica Winters at the Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia mural during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Stitching Together

Produced by Inuit Futures and the Inuit Art Foundation with the support of the Canadian Embassy of Denmark and the Nuuk Art Museum, Stitching Together showcased an outdoor, multi-image installation curated by Dr. Heather Igloliorte and Alysa Procida. It included recent works by Krystle Silverfox, Kablusiak, and Kaylyn Baker that contemplated the relationship between land, kinship and Indigenous bodily sovereignty. An artist talk (mentioned above) took place on Friday, May 26th at Nuuk Art Museum.

Kaylyn Baker at Stitching Together during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Kaylyn Baker.

Krystle Silverfox at Stitching Together during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Kaylyn Baker.

Kaylyn Baker and Danielle Miles at Stitching Together during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

Kablusiak’s work at Stitching Together during the Nuuk Nordic Festival. Nuuk, Greenland. May 2023. Photograph by Bronson Jacque.

PIRRUVIK: CIRCUMPOLAR SHORT FILMS + Living Portraits from Pammiut

Originally screened at the Arctic Arts Summit 2022, Pirruvik: Circumpolar Shorts is a short film program of 50 films by artists from the Circumpolar North curated by filmmaker Jeremy Emerson and co-organized by Western Arctic Moving Pictures and the Inuit Art Foundation with support from Telefilm Canada. It showcased at the Nuuk Local Museum during the festival and included the local Greenlandic film Living Portraits from Paamiut, narrated by Johanne, Barto, Emilie and Ulrik as a special addition for the festival.

Film still of BADJELANNDA (2020) directed by Jonah Senften and Jimmy Sundin, part-of Pirruvik: Circumpolar Shorts.

Film still of THROAT SINGING IN KANGIRSUK (2020) directed by Eva Kaukai, Manon Chamberland, part-of Pirruvik: Circumpolar Shorts.

Indigenous Virtual Reality Projects from Northern Canada

Inuit Futures held the Indigenous Virtual Reality Projects from Northern Canada at Nuutoqaq - Nuuk Lokalmuseum, which consisted of five immersive and innovative virtual-reality films by Northern Indigenous artists. The five films made in 2022 were: “Ełeghàà; All At Once” by Casey Koyczan, The Way Home by Melaw Nakehk’o, Tuvak Akkusinialuk Siaggijâk by Mark Igloliorte, Mikigiaq by Nyla Innuksuk and Ajagutaq/Parhelion by Tanya Tagaq.

Film descriptions:

Casey Koyczan (Dene), “Ełeghàà; All At Once” (2022) – Inspired by legends, our current climate and society, and imagined paths forward, this short film asks what our world was, what it is now, and how it might be in the future.
Melaw Nakehk’o (Dene), The Way Home (2022) – A young man makes the long walk home after an unsuccessful hunting trip, connecting the routes of our ancestors to our journeys today.
Mark Igloliorte (Inuk), Tuvak Akkusinialuk Siaggijâk (2022)– Join four Indigenous skateboarders on the Dettah Ice Road over the frozen Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories as they connect to language, land and movement through spray paint, grip tape, country food, and Inuit electropop.
Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk), Mikigiaq (2022)– An inexperienced hunter is determined to hunt foxes in the nearby woods, but ends up catching something much more unexpected instead.
Tanya Tagaq (Inuk), Ajagutaq/Parhelion (2022)– Be transported to a magnificent landscape in Nunavut where Arctic beings and spirits become one from this excerpt from the artist’s novel Split Tooth (2018).

Inuit futures participated in various talks over the course of the festival. On Thursday, May 25th, Inuit Futures Director, Heather Igloliorte, and Alysa Procida presented on art communities and associations. Bronson Jacque and Krystle Silverfox joined the Reflecting Nuuk Nordic Stage for a talk on “Art and Activism” on Sunday, May 28th.