Máret Ánne Sara Creates Next Hyundai Commission for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall
Northern Sámi multidisciplinary artist Máret Ánne Sara will create the next annual Hyundai Commission at the Tate Modern in London, UK. Created specifically for the gallery’s Turbine Hall, the work will debut on 14 October 2025 and remain on view through 6 April 2026. Sara is the first circumpolar Indigenous artist to be commissioned as part of Tate’s partnership with Hyundai Motors.
Bonavista Biennale Announces 2025 Lineup, Featuring Circumpolar Artists
The Bonavista Biennale has announced the roster of participating artists for their 2025 edition, String Game, featuring artists from across the circumpolar North and beyond. Sarah Baikie, Andrea Flowers, Maureen Gruben, Michael Massie, Taqralik Partridge, Inuuteq Storch, Nellie Winters and artists from the Dáiddadállu Sámi artist collective will participate alongside 15 other artists and collectives. Curated by Dr. Heather Igloliorte in collaboration with Artistic Director Rose Bouthillier, this is the first time international locations have been invited to participate in Biennale. String Games will also feature a special exhibition of works by senior makers from Nunatsiavut, co-curated by Jessica Winters, Ella Jacque and Vanessa Flowers.
Winners of 2025 Icelandic Art Prize Announced
The Icelandic Art Centre announced the recipients of the 2025 Icelandic Art Prize in Reykjavik on 20 March 2025. Photographer Pétur Thomsen won the Artist of the Year Award for the exhibition Settlement at the Hafnarfjörður Centre of Culture and Fine Art, while painter Helena Margrét Jónsdóttir won the Motivational Award and Erró won the Icelandic Visual Arts Council’s Honorary Award. Agnieska Sosnowska’s photography book FÖR won Publication of the Year. The Textile Society’s 50/100/55, which commemorated the association’s 50th anniversary, was awarded Group Exhibition of the Year and the Gerðarsafn Art Museum’s Transformation / World by Gerður Helgadóttir was awarded Retrospective of the Year.
First In-Person Arctic Indigenous Screenwriting Workshop Takes Place in Guovdageignu
The Arctic Indigenous Screenwriting Workshop held its first in-person session in Guovdageaidnu in April 2025 in order to strengthen Arctic Indigenous storytelling on screen. Twelve participants have been selected from 47 applicants to work with mentors Liisa Holmberg, Nils Gaup, Jörgen Hjerdt, Gail Maurice, Åse Katin Vuolab, Kate Leys, Suvi West, and Bird Runningwater through October 2025 in monthly workshops created in collaboration between the International Sámi Film Institute and the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund.
Inuit Comedy Series North of North Debuts on Netflix
North of North, the comedy series created and produced by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald of Red Marrow Media debuted on Netflix this month, making it the first Inuit-created comedy on the network. Set in the fictional town of Ice Cove, Nunavut, the show stars Anna Lambe as Siaja, a young, modern Inuk mother coming into her own. North of North was co-commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) and Netflix in association with Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and shot in Iqaluit, Nunavut (Canada) after the territory’s first production studio was built to support the production.
Canada Media Fund Announces Impact Support Program Recipients
The Canada Media Fund announced that 13 Indigenous-owned and operated companies will each receive $50,000 in support through the Indigenous Company Impact Support Program. Four northern companies were successful: Isuma Productions (Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec), Kingullit Productions (Nunavut, Quebec), Taqqut Productions (Nunavut) and Treaty Road Productions 2 Inc (Northwest Territories, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario).
US Government Terminates Hundreds of Museum and Library Grants
The US Government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut over 1,000 grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services after laying off the agency’s entire workforce. Five of the targeted projects, totaling $856,894 were located in Alaska: $29,920 to the Koahnic Broadcast Corporation to cover the “Road to Healing” from Intergenerational Trauma; $303,438 to the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council for “Strengthening the Humanities in Alaska”; $226,235 to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development for the “Alaska Digital Newspaper Program”; $149,961 to the Sealaska Heritage Institute for “Herring of Change: An Ethnography of Indigenous Knowledge of Changing Herring and Herring Spawn Distribution Around Sitka, Southeast Alaska”; and $147,340 to the Sealaska Heritage Institute for the project “Feeding Our Ancestors: An Ethnography of Black Seaweed Use in Southeast Alaska Indigenous Communities”. The American Library Association and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have sued the government in U.S. District Court to reverse the cuts reinstate the agency’s employees.
Odee Responds to Alleged Plans of Censorship in Norway Amid Ongoing Legal Dispute
Icelandic artist Odee debuted a QR code linking to a new digital artwork mimicking the website of the Bergen Kunsthall at the institution as a response to concerns that the University of Bergen and the gallery planned to censor his work. The artist is currently appealing a UK court ruling ordering him to take down an earlier digital work that accused Samherji, one of the world’s largest fishing companies, of corruption because it infringed on the company’s trademark rights.
Riddu Riððu Announces Young Artist of the Year
The Riddu Riðð Festival announced that ElleMina Kuoljok Baer is their Young Artist of the Year. Kuoljok Baer is a duojár who will showcase her work at this summer’s festival and will receive 25,000 NKK and a residency with Nils-Aslak Valkeapää in Lásságámmi as part of the award.
US Government Plans Cuts to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service
The US Government is reportedly planning to cut funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) when Congress reconvenes on 28 April 2025, according to leaked reports. Alaska Public Media CEO and President Ed Ulman previously testified to the importance of these services to the state, saying they were “vital” for Alaskans as the region is not well-served by corporate media.
National Gallery of Canada Announces Longlist for the 2025 Sobey Art Award
The National Gallery of Canada announced the 30 artists that made the longlist for the 2025 Sobey Art Award, largely considered the top prize for contemporary art in Canada. Darcie Bernhardt, Tarralik Duffy, Guná, Shirley Moorhouse and Mathew Nuqingaq have been nominated in the Circumpolar region, which was introduced last year and represents artists living in or from the country’s North. The award’s shortlist will be announced on 3 June 2025 before an exhibition of their work will open on 3 October, and the winner on 8 November 2025. The award will disburse a total of $465,000: $100,000 to the winner, $25,000 to shortlisted artists and $10,000 to those on the longlist.
Arctic Inspiration Prize Announces Finalists
The Arctic Inspiration Prize has announced the 18 finalists for its awards, including several arts and culture projects. The Ai! Inuktitut Preservation Project (Nunavik) and Tłįchǫ Government TV (Northwest Territories) are finalists in the AIP category, which funds four projects up to $500,000 each. The Traditional Sewing and Beading Program (Nunavut) and The Northern Laughter Movement (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) are nominated in the Youth category, which funds 7 projects up to $100,000 each. Winners will be announced on 13 May 2025.
Arctic Indigenous Artists Win at the Juno Awards
Two Inuit musicians took home prizes at the 2025 Juno Awards, celebrating the best of Canadian contemporary music. Elisapie won Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Inuktitut and Deantha Edmunds won Classical Composition of the Year for Angmalukisaa. Elisapie was also nominated for Album of the Year for Inuktitut, while Edmunds, Mark Fewer, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia and Aiyun Huang were nominated for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble for Alikeness.
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