‘I wished to indicate what our land actually appears to be like like,’ says photographer Lucasi Kiatainaq
Rising younger Nunavik artists are getting the possibility to step into the highlight as a part of a brand new exhibit titled Our Land, Our Artwork, that includes unique artwork items impressed by Inuit cultural historical past.
The exhibit, developed by Quebec-based Avataq Cultural Institute, is offered on the Northern Voices Gallery within the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.
Among the many 5 specialty artwork installations included are works by members of the circus troupe Tupiq A.C.T., who come from Nunavik and the larger Montreal space.
From left, Mariam Imak, Minnie Ningiuruvik and Mina Maina Tukai, members of Tupiq A.C.T., on the exhibition on the Canadian Museum of Nature. (Photograph by Andrea Sakiyama Kennedy)
The exhibit additionally consists of drawings by Qumaq M. Iyaituk and Passa Mangiuk, throat singing by Evie Mark and Akinisie Sivuarapik and visible artwork, together with beadwork, by Taqralik Partridge.
Caroline Lanthier, mission supervisor on the Canadian Museum of Nature, stated the Northern Voice Gallery is a novel area with rotating displays meant to focus on the life and tradition of northern communities.
“This can be a strategy to hyperlink the north and the south,” she stated.
Our Land, Our Artwork is the gallery’s third set up since its official opening in 2017.
Lanthier stated the idea known as for the artists to replicate their neighborhood and relationship with the land for gallery guests who’re unfamiliar with Nunavik.
Tupiq A.C.T. members Minnie Ningiuruvik, Mina Maina Tukai, and Mariam Imak stated being invited to take part within the exhibit was an honour.
The three performers, all from Nunavik, at present name Montreal residence after shifting there to entry coaching, provides and alternatives as skilled circus performers.
In an interview on the gallery a couple of days earlier than Dec. 2 public opening, the three shared their plans for pursuing careers within the arts and made it clear that reflecting their Inuit tradition and heritage would at all times be a precedence.
Tupiq’s artwork set up is a short-film presentation of a efficiency impressed by the troupe’s interpretation of the James Bay Northern Quebec Settlement.
Signed on Nov. 11, 1975, the settlement is a land declare settlement between the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec and the federal authorities.
Lucasi Kiatainaq along with his mom, Christina, in entrance of his pictures that includes moments impressed by Inuit life in Nunavik. (Photograph by Andrea Sakiyama Kennedy)
Imak, 22, stated the movie shares the historical past of the area, significantly to those that weren’t born on the time negotiations had been held.
“It is extremely necessary for the youth to be engaged with the [agreement] significantly with the illusionary possession of land,” stated Imak, “and what which means now for us as Inuit youth, and what that may imply for the subsequent generations in the case of the land and our relationship to it.”
Photographer Lucasi Kiatainaq from Kangiqsujuaq can also be included within the exhibition.
Kiatainaq acknowledges pictures isn’t a standard Inuit artwork type, however stated he makes use of his photographs to replicate the color and great thing about Inuit tradition by showcasing folks and animals dwelling their on a regular basis lives within the Nunavik pure atmosphere.
“I wished to indicate what our land actually appears to be like like,” he stated, whereas standing subsequent to a soapstone carving that served as his artistic inspiration.
Kiantainaq, who’s at present dwelling and finding out in Montreal, usually options his household harvesting and looking in his pictures, in addition to the panorama and wildlife round his household cabin in Nunavik.
“He exhibits our on a regular basis life,” stated Christina Kiatainaq, Lucasi’s mom, who joined him in Ottawa for the exhibit. “We like to be on the land the place we will actually breathe.”
Accompanying her son to the exhibit, and to the gala that was attended by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, was thrilling and a bit overwhelming, she stated.
Kiatainiq stated he considers his participation within the exhibit a turning level, a game-changer, for his future as an expert photographer.
“It creates a possibility for Inuit artists to be acknowledged. Placing Inuit artwork in a worldwide highlight is a superb factor for Inuit artwork and Inuit artists,” he stated.
Impressed by themes of the atmosphere and ancestral connections to the land, Taqralik Partidge’s work, a beaded amautik, addresses life within the North in addition to southern city centres. (Photograph by Pierre Poirier)
“There’s solely good issues that may come out of this exhibition, and I’m so excited for the long run.”
The exhibit runs till October 2024, and entry is included with common admission.
