Local Ilinniaqtuit Mid-Winter Art Gathering

Opening of Une Histoire de Réussite / Journey from Coast to Coast, La Guilde, Montreal, QC, February 2023.

Ilinniaqtuit, Jonas Henderson, Bronson Jacque and Jason Sikoak, with Dr. Heather Igloliorte at Centre Clark, Montreal, QC, February 2023.

Opening of Une Histoire de Réussite / Journey from Coast to Coast, La Guilde, Montreal, QC, February 2023.

Ilinniaqtuit at Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience, McCord Museum, Montreal, QC, February 2023.

Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience, McCord Museum, Montreal, QC, February 2023.

Jeremy Dutcher performs at Centre Clark’s VIP event in tandem with the exhibition, Nitakinan, Centre Clark, Montreal, QC, February 2023.

Local Ilinniaqtuit Mid-Winter Art Gathering

February 22-24, 2023

Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq / Pijariuqsarniq Project welcomed a number of Illinniaqtuit to Montreal from February 22 to 24th, 2023 to participate in a Montreal specific mid-winter art gathering to experience and exchange through various art focused events the city had to offer. This city specific gathering included visits to Concordia University where Ilinniaqtuit visited the Inuit Futures lab, the Indigenous Futures Research Centre, and the Otsenhákta Student Centre where they discussed their various university experiences and graduate programs as well as resources for Inuit in post secondary institutions. They also were invited to Centre Clark, La Guilde, McCord Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for exhibition openings and tours.

Events began with Ilinniaqtuk, Bronson Jaque, presenting their continuing research, creative output and details of their current game development to fellow Ilinniaqtuit at the Inuit Futures lab. Ilinniaqtuit were then brought on a tour of the various Concordia resources such as the IFRC and the Otsenhákta Student Centre by local Ilinniaqtuk and Concordia student, Jason Sikoak. After, the group attended the opening of Nitakinan at Centre Clark, curated by artists, Caroline Monnet and Inuit Futures mentor, Sebastien Aubin. This was the fifth edition of the Maison modèle, whereby the exhibition aimed for the public to share, recollect and connect to the land in a democratic and open way. Ilinniaqtuit had the opportunity to attend, discover the centre's spaces transformed into a lush forest, enjoy snacks and refreshments specializing in Indigenous cuisine, as well as an intimate performance by polaris prize and juno winner Jeremy Dutcher. The exhibition fostered discussions around anticolonial approaches to ideas of home, and the significance of preservation, maintenance, protection and respect of land and territory.

The following day, Ilinniaqtuit received a curatorial tour of the permanent exhibition, Voix Autochtones D'Aujourdhui | Indigenous Voices of Today, at the McCord Museum with Head Curator of Indigenous Cultures, Jonathan Lainey. The exhibition bears witness to the still unrecognized knowledge of Indigenous peoples in Quebec and Canada as well as the deep wounds they carry and their incredible resilience. That evening, the group attended the opening of Une histoire de réussite | A Journey from Coast to Coast at La Guilde, which included artworks by contemporary Indigenous artists such as Barry Ace, Jordan Bennett, Nadia Myre, and Melissa Peter-Paul.

On the final day, Curatorial Associate and Inuit Futures Research Assistant, Charissa Von Harringa, led a curatorial tour of ᑐᓴᕐᓂᑐᑦ TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold, an exhibition which combines anthropology and Indigenous art history, through a panorama of contemporary and traditional art originating from the circumpolar regions, to address the place of music in Inuit visual art.