Former Ottawa resident Gloria Song is a lawyer practicing in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. She also keeps a blog about life in the far north.
Even though Nunavut is a Canadian territory, living in the Arctic can feel like a foreign country or another planet.
Soon after my partner and I got married, we left Ottawa to start up a new life in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Since then, one of the things that I’ve fallen in love with here is the local arts culture. Even though all of the communities in Nunavut are remote and small in size (Cambridge Bay has 1,500 souls), there’s a surprisingly large network of talented artists and general pride in their skills. I recently attended a local fashion show featuring the latest seal fur fashions, handmade by Nunavummiat designers. The show also featured various Inuit performers like throat singers, traditional drummers, dancers, and even a blind fiddler named Ashley. Inuit artists regularly knock on my door to show me their intricate muskox bone carvings. Visitors can order a gorgeous traditional snow parka or wolf fur mittens custom-made by an elder. The walls of my office are decorated with beautiful prints full of vibrant colours narrating northern life.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy for most Canadians “down south” to experience the arts and culture that the North has to offer. After all, for the price of airfare from Ottawa to Cambridge Bay, you could fly to South Korea — twice. However, Ottawans have a rare chance to experience it with Northern Scene, the arts festival being put on this week by the National Arts Centre. As the largest gathering of artists from Yukon, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut ever presented outside the region, it’s an opportunity you do not want to miss.
What would be my personal picks at Northern Scene? An obvious choice is the Tanya Tagaq show on May 4 at the Mayfair Theatre. Many know Tanya Tagaq as the Inuk throat singer from Cambridge Bay (Cambridge Bay!) who’s collaborated with Bjork and performed the song for the CBC TV show Arctic Air. She’ll be performing a live soundtrack during the screening of the famous movie Nanook of the North.
If I could be there, I’d also be particularly interested in the How the Lights Get In session on May 3, at the beautiful Library and Archives Canada. The show features readings by Dene artist Leela Gilday and Inuk writer Tiffany Ayalik, as well as cross-genre musical acts ranging from Dene singer-songwriter Paul Andrew to weirdly wonderful electro-acoustic musician Carmen Braden from Yellowknife. You’ll also get to hear Iqaluit throat-singing rock party band The Jerry Cans, who made it to the Top 3 for the whole Nunavut region in CBC’s recent Searchlight competition.
Of course, make sure you also check out the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Ottawa Art Gallery to get a visual sense of what northern artists have to offer. And after that, save up some money and come visit Cambridge Bay to experience this Arctic world for yourself.
Northern Scene is running now until May 4, 2013 at various locations across Ottawa.
