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Northwest Territories’ cultural crossroads

By Rebecca Silver Slayter

Tradition meets innovation at the Great Northern Arts Festival.

Arriving in the Northwest Territories, you feel like you’re glimpsing the world as it once looked – there’s a sense of the ancient in this rolling, fireweed-dotted landscape of unsullied beauty. But don’t be fooled: The land has been inhabited for millennia and has a rich cultural heritage for you to discover at Inuvik’s Great Northern Arts Festival, July 10–19. The theme this year, “Old Legends, New Dreams,” captures the spirit of the festival itself: a conversation between historic traditions and thriving contemporary culture.

In the gallery
The sun doesn’t set in the Arctic Circle in July, so you’ll have long, warm days (daytime temperatures can reach 21°C [70°F] and beyond) to take in the more than 4,000 pieces of art on display. Colorful jewelry, traditional clothing, sleek stone sculptures and inventive mixed-media art will vie for your attention at the 6,000-sq-ft indoor gallery.

Many of the artists will be on hand to talk with visitors. You might meet sculptor Alec Tuckatuck: At 33, he’s one of the youngest Inuit masters of carving. Tuckatuck’s sculptures, ranging from 12 cm to 1 m (5 to 40 in) high, combine soapstone, marble and walrus tusk into astonishingly intricate portrayals of Inuit legends. For instance, his carving Kiviuq shows a mythic Inuit shaman – rendered in shining black soapstone – paddling a kayak around a great marble orb, his paddle bent in an impressionistic flourish that betrays the modernity of the artist’s approach to this traditional art.

In between browsing and chatting, you can listen to Inuit music and storytelling or climb into a 10-m (32-ft) indoor tepee for a reading by a northern author. The gallery fills with noise and laughter – here, respect for the art is shown not through silent reverence but through conversation.

Beyond the gallery
Adjacent to the gallery is a studio space where you can express your own creative impulses at workshops in carving, beading, drumming, throat singing and filmmaking. You’ll be sure to leave with unique souvenirs and an uncommon skill set to show off to friends and family back home.

Outside in the “carving village,” you’ll see artist Simon Tookoome bent over a table, sculpting rough, distorted shapes of animals and humans that intersect in totem-like formations. You can chat with him about his childhood in a traditional nomadic Inuit community and about how life has changed in the North.

Under the midnight sun
In the evenings, the action moves to the main stage, where contemporary musicians perform with traditional drummers and throat singers. Inevitably, the dance floor will get crowded as locals and visitors reel to the jigs of the Delta Good Time Band.

Later, northern clothing designers will flaunt their creations at an Arctic Fashion Show, showcasing everything from traditional amauti (parka) designs to the work of edgy Yellowknife artist Jamie Look, who uses materials such as fur and leather to make runway-worthy modern garments.

And not to be missed is the circumpolar circustry of ArtCirq. Based in Igloolik, Nunavut, this internationally touring circus was developed so Inuit youth could come together and share their culture. Stretched out on the grass before the stage, you’ll get the best view of the energetic teenage tumblers, acrobats, clowns and trapeze artists presenting ancestral Inuit stories to the mesmerizing soundtrack of drums and throat singing – yet another glimpse into an ancient culture with its eyes firmly on the future.

Getting here

Great Northern Arts Festival, Inuvik, NT, 867-777-8638, gnaf.org
ArtCirq, Igloolik, NU, 867-934-8809, artcirq.org
Town of Inuvik, 2 Firth St., Inuvik, NT, 867-777-8600, inuvik.ca
Northwest Territories Tourism, 1-800-661-0788, www.explorenwt.com

Rebecca Silver Slayter is a Montréal-based writer and an editor for the literary journal Brick.

Photo credit: GNAF/Terry Halifax