Creating Circumpolar Connections at the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit

The 2022 Arctic Arts Summit in Whitehorse, Yukon, brought together representatives from Arctic countries and Indigenous Nations to celebrate and discuss circumpolar arts and culture. Founder Maria Utsi shares insights on the event’s origins and significance, highlighting the crucial role of culture in northern development and the importance of Arctic perspectives in global discussions.

Beyond the Gallery Arctic Arts Summit Circumpolar Connectivity

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. Mike Thomas photo/Yukon Arts Centre.

Explore the events from the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit:

TETHER, a 2022 Arctic Arts Summit exhibition, features over 50 works by Northern Indigenous artists. Co-curated by four Indigenous curators, it explores themes of identity, land, and knowledge across the North, showcasing diverse perspectives in Northern Indigenous art.

Exploring Northern Indigeneity with the TETHER Curatorial Team

Land of None | Land of Us’, a featured exhibition of the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit, showcases contemporary circumpolar photography challenging the notion of an ’empty’ Arctic. Curated by northern Indigenous curators, the exhibition highlights Indigenous connections to land, knowledge, and relationships across the circumpolar world, asserting a continuous presence and refuting colonial ‘Terra Nullius’ narratives.

Land of None | Land of Us

Nuiharuq (“visible from a distance”) is the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit’s performance arts component. Curated by Reneltta Arluk, it features diverse circumpolar artists in theatre, dance, music, and puppetry. This multi-venue journey along the Yukon River explores connections to land and story through both traditional and contemporary practices.

NUIHARUQ