Between June 27 and 29, 2022, the third Arctic Arts Summit was co-hosted by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Yukon. The event brought together representatives of Arctic countries and the Indigenous Nations of the circumpolar region on the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council in Whitehorse, YT. The IAQ spoke with the Maria Utsi, the Arctic Arts Summit Founder on the event:
“The idea of creating a circumpolar summit for arts and culture started in 2015. At the time, the political discussions on the future development of the Arctic were led from the South and the northern perspective was rarely taken into consideration. I was struck by how international reports and official documents on the Arctic were limited to resource management and global environmental issues. Arts and culture were not even mentioned as areas of political interest. 

Yet, from our northern perspective, culture was and remains an imperative driving force for sustainable growth and development in the North. The first Arctic Arts Summit became a reality in June 2017, with official representation from all eight Arctic countries, including the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Arctic Council secretariat, the European Union and a broad spectrum of arts institutions, art organizations and artists.”

–Maria Utsi, Summit Founder and 2022 International Liaison

Artists at work at the Unorthodox store during the Arctic Arts Summit’s Art Crawl in Whitehorse, YT

Explore the events from the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit:

TETHER

Land of None | Land of Us

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