Kinngait Artists Featured for the Second Time at Gwangju Biennale
The 15th Gwangju Biennale, titled Pansori, a soundscape of the 21st century, opened this month in Gwangju, South Korea. The Canadian Pavilion features a collaborative exhibition of work by six Inuit artists from Kinngait, NU, and three Gwangju-based Korean artists. Works by graphic artists Saimaiyu Akesuk, Shuvinai Ashoona, Qavavau Manumie, Quvianaqtuk Pudlat, Pitseolak Qimirpik and Ooloosie Saila are included. Large-scale murals were created from digitally rendered drawings by these artists, creating a visual landscape based on the aesthetic and thematic elements of creative life in the Arctic. The exhibition also contains one framed drawing by each artist. The artists were also included in an exhibition at the 2023 Gwangju Biennale. The biennale runs until December 1, 2024.
Nunavut Film Development Corporation Announces First Inuk CEO
On September 10, the Nunavut Film Development Corporation (NFDC) announced the appointment of Lena Ellsworth as the new CEO, the corporation’s first Inuk woman leader. The NFDC aims to foster the development and growth of film, television and digital media in Nunavut. Ellsworth’s appointment came out of her participation in a two-year mentorship program funded by the Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corporation and the Indigenous Screen Office. She has a background in filmmaking and has said she is passionate about preserving Inuit language and culture.
APTN Launches New Indigenous Languages Channel
On September 1, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) launched its new channel dedicated to Indigenous languages. APTN Languages, will feature programming in 18 Indigenous languages, with subtitles in English and French. The debut schedule includes the third season of Anaana’s Tent, a children’s series about Inuit culture, in Inuktitut. “[It’s] very important for APTN to air Indigenous languages and Inuktitut, because once you take a film, it’s there forever,” said Louise Flaherty, producer and founder of the production company Taqqut Productions, in an interview with APTN. Another notable premiere is the Anishinaabemowin dub of Star Wars (Anangong Miigaading): A New Hope, which will air on October 13. The channel’s goal is to eventually produce programs in Indigenous languages in addition to offering dubbed programs.
Tate Modern Director talks New Strategy for Bringing Indigenous Work into the Gallery
Director of the Tate Modern in London, UK, Karin Hindsbo, has publicly discussed plans to incorporate more Indigenous art into the gallery through means other than acquisition. One strategy is to focus on borrowing works from Indigenous communities rather than purchasing them for the Tate Modern’s permanent collection. “When we think about embedding Indigenous practice in the way we work at Tate Modern, it is not just about acquiring another loan for display; it is adapting the mindsets that follow from Indigenous practices,” Hindsbo says in an interview with The Art Newspaper. This different course of action comes after the museum’s first initiative to purchase more Sámi and Inuit art in Nordic Europe with funding from the AKO Foundation, was announced earlier this year.
Taqralik Partridge announced as the 2024 Eastern Comma Artist-in-Residence
Writer, curator and spoken-word poet Taqralik Partridge is the 2024 Musagetes Eastern Comma Artist-in-Residence. Originally from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, QC, and now based in Ottawa, ON, Partridge has shown her work nationally and internationally. Recent exhibitions include the solo show Taqralik Partridge: ᐳᓛᖃᑎᒌᑦ (Pulaaqatigiit) at Onsite Gallery in Toronto, ON, and the group exhibition Radical Stitch, currently on view at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Recently, Partridge was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award. The Eastern Comma residency is a joint initiative between Musagetes and rare Charitable Research Reserve that is held every September and October. The residency immerses artists in the landscape at North House in Cambridge, ON, and provides an opportunity for them to develop their practice while engaging with a community of people at rare.
Bronson Jacque Awarded NGC Research Fellowship in Photography
Artist Bronson Jacque has been named a fellow in the National Gallery of Canada’s (NGC) 2024 Research Fellowship in Photography. Based in Ottawa, ON, and from Postville, Nunatsiavut, NL, Jacque works within various media and often draws inspiration from their artistic family. In 2021 their work was featured in the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq’s inaugural exhibition, INUA, and in a group mural project at Nuuk Nordic Festival in 2023. Jacque’s project for this fellowship examines the historical and contemporary challenges in representing Nunatsiavummiut in archival collections. The project aims to create best practices for future archival approaches that are based in community engagement and Indigenous participation. The fellowship includes a three-month full-time residency sometime between September 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025, and an award of up to $15,000.