Tauqsiijiit

An Art Gallery of Ontario/Charles Street Video Partnership

In celebration of the AGO’s recent acquisition of the Nunavut (Our Land) series by Igloolik Isuma Productions, this was an artists-in-residence program that used experimental video practises to explore the themes of place, collaborative process, and Inuit and Aboriginal representation.

In a temporary media production laboratory at the AGO set up by CSV, artists from Siqiniq Productions, Vtape, De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group, Igloolik Isuma Productions and Arnait Video met with youth from Toronto, Iqaluit, James Bay and Ottawa to generate performance, video and new media works.

Regular internet broadcasts from the lab transmitted their explorations of location and northern and southern identities to Toronto audiences and the artists’ home communities. Gallery visitors were invited to drop in, participate in ongoing productions and converse with the artists and young people in residence.

Accompanied by an installation created by Sarah Laakuluk Williamson that included video, and new media works by Igloolik Isuma and Arnait Productions, Tauqsiijiit explored new ways of working with Inuit collections and communities.

The program coincided with Planet IndigenUs in August, 2004, a city-wide, international, multidisciplinary arts festival organized by Harbourfront Centre and the Woodland Cultural Centre.

Participating youth organizations included: 7th Generation Image Makers (Native Child and Family Services, Toronto), Iqaluit Youth Arts Collaborative (Nunavut) and Tungasuvvingat Inuit Youth Drop In (Ottawa), Mushkegowuk Emerging Performers (James Bay Lowlands).

Visit Absolute Hearts Article

 2004