Inuit Nominees at the Canadian Screen Awards 

Inuk actress Alexis Vincent-Wolfe was nominated for performance in a supporting role in a Drama for her role as Jesse in the horror/action film Slash/Back (2022) directed by Nyla Innuksuk. Set in Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), NU, Slash/Back follows a group of teenage girls as they fight against an alien invasion and marks Vincent-Wolfe’s debut acting role. The documentary Twice Colonized (2023) directed by Lin Alluna and co-produced by Emile Hertling Péronard (Ánorâk Film), Alethea Aggiuq Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Red Marrow Media), and Bob Moore (EyeSteelFilm) was nominated for two awards: Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Original Music in a Feature Length Documentary. Earlier this year, Twice Colonized was also nominated for Documentary of the Year by the Danish Film Awards. The Canadian Screen Awards will take place May 28–31, 2024 in Toronto, ON.

Barry Pottle and Katherine Takpannie Chosen for a Public Art Project in Ottawa 

Photographers Barry Pottle and Katherine Takpannie are among nine Indigenous artists from across Canada selected to create artwork for Ādisōke, the Ottawa Public Library–Library and Archives Canada joint facility in Ottawa, ON. The project is part of the Indigenous Public Art Program, developed by the City of Ottawa Public Art Program, which celebrates Indigenous culture, heritage and art at Ādisōke. Originally from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, NL, Pottle currently lives in Ottawa, and his work focuses on capturing the uniqueness of Inuit living in urban settings. Takpannie, also based in Ottawa, often photographs her subjects during acts of performance or political gestures. Both artists will contribute original photographs to the facility and other contributions include sculpture and visual art in both the interior and exterior of the building. The facility is set to open in 2026. 

Nine Circumpolar Filmmakers Selected for Witness 2024 Film Mentorship Program

The Arctic Indigenous Film Fund (AIFF) and Telefilm Canada have announced nine Arctic Indigenous Filmmakers for the second round of the Witness program for film training and mentorship. Witness aims to empower filmmakers to create short films that deal with climate change. The following circumpolar filmmakers were selected for their dedication to illuminating the effects of climate change in their communities: Ashley Qilavaq-Savard and Jennifer Kilabuk (Inuit, Canada); Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Neets’aii Gwich’in, United States); Marc Fussing Rosbach (Inuk, Greenland); Johannes Vang (Sámi, Norway); Elin Marakatt (Sámi, Sweden); Eriel Lugt and Carmen Kuptana (Inuvialuit, Canada). The films produced during this program will premiere at the Indigenous film festival Skábmagovat in Inari, Finland, in January 2025.

Maureen Gruben Solo Exhibition on View in Vancouver

Installation, textile and performance artist Maureen Gruben’s solo exhibition, The land that used to be, is on view until May 5, 2024, at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Originally from Tuktuyaaqtuuq (Tuktoyaktuk), Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, Gruben often creates work focused on the relationship between land and the communities that live on it. The land that used to be engages with traditional materials, techniques and knowledge to highlight the global ecological crisis in relation to Inuvialuit ingenuity. The exhibition features the new installation Qikuryuaq (Clay Hills), which is made up of approximately 1,000 clay beads created by Gruben and her family and community members. The number of beads represents Tuktuyaaqtuuq’s population and the clay they are made from represents the erosion of shorelines.

Students from Iguarsivik School Win Essor Recognition Award and Showcase Work at MNBAQ

Twenty-five students from Iguarsivik school in Puvirnituq, Nunavik, QC, collaborated to make a body of work now at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) in Quebec City. The work is titled Tarratuutiq/Taima, which means “mirror” and “this is enough,” and consists of 10 projects in media such as painting, photography and video. The students won the Essor Recognition Award, presented by the Quebec government to teachers and people in the education system who create innovative, culture-based art projects. The award was presented at the MNBAQ, where the work is on view until June 2.