ᕿᓐᓂᕋᔮᑦᑐᖅ Qinnirajaattuq / Ripples:

Making Waves in Inuit Art Symposium

ᕿᓐᓂᕋᔮᑦᑐᖅ Qinnirajaattuq / Ripples: Making Waves in Inuit Art Symposium

November 6-8th, 2024
Montreal, QC

Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership SSHRC-funded partnership grant is soon entering its final year! ! To wrap up this seven-year initiative (and prepare for what comes next) we will be hosting a closing symposium on Inuit art that will coincide with the opening of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' new permanent Inuit art exhibition, curated by the multitalented Nunavimmiuk curator, artist and filmmaker, asinnajaq.

This symposium will be the first major gathering focused solely on Inuit visual arts since the Inuit Modern Symposium, which was held in Toronto in November of 2011. So much has changed since then! Almost exactly 13 years later, the forthcoming symposium, ᕿᓐᓂᕋᔮᑦᑐᖅ Qinnirajaattuq / Ripples: Making Waves in Inuit Art symposium will invite artists, curators, museum professionals, scholars, students, Elders and others invested in Inuit art from across Inuit Nunaat to come together and reflect on where we've come from, assess the state of the arts, and plan for the future. Together we will share knowledge and highlight innovative practices happening within Inuit regions, across Canada, and throughout the circumpolar world. Over the three day period, events hosted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Avataq Cultural Institute, Concordia University, La Guilde, FOFA Gallery, and throughout Montreal will include panels, discussions, exhibition openings, curatorial talks, a gallery crawl, performances, vendors, workshops, and more!

Registration will open early summer 2024 and Inuit participation will be prioritized.

About the design and symposium title: The title for the upcoming symposium ᕿᓐᓂᕋᔮᑦᑐᖅ Qinnirajaattuq / Ripples, was suggested by Krista Ulujuk Zawadski in conversation with other Inuit members of Inuit Futures, Taqralik Partridge and Heather Igloliorte. We think it is a perfect conceptual framework for thinking about the impact of the Inuit Futures SSHRC Partnership Grant; how one small act can reverberate throughout the world. This has been the underlying premise of this project, that Inuit students today become mentors tomorrow. In this logo by Kalaaleq Inuk & Danish Freelance graphic designer Coco Apunnguaq Lynge, the artist pays homage to Mark Emerak's 'The Great Whirlpool', reminding us to look back at the history of Inuit art in order to move forward, as well as to honour our ancestor's deep knowledge, acknowledging how their efforts in the past continue to create waves in the future. Says Lynge, "While two kayakers are out on the open water a humpback whale briefly breachers the water to yet again return to the deep. The ripples of the whale impacts the kayakers both on the water and on land. The encounter is carried on from the water as the kayakers tell the story of how they saw a whale splitting the waters while they were out hunting." Lynge reflects on how our actions and interactions with the world around us become our stories, impacting ourselves and those around us through space and time.