The Government of Yukon and the Canada Council for the Arts will co-host the Arctic Arts Summit in the Yukon in June 2022.
The Arctic Arts Summit brings together artists and those involved in the cultural fields from Arctic countries to strengthen the northern art community and create infrastructures as well as partnerships for circumpolar arts to develop. This is the first time it will be hosted in Canada.
Bringing together representatives of the Indigenous nations and Arctic countries in the circumpolar region, the 2022 summit will explore and advance the perspectives, stories and cultures of the North with an aim to stimulate ongoing, sustainable collaboration in arts and creative industries throughout the region.
The Government of Yukon and the Canada Council for the Arts have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining the roles to jointly administer, coordinate, and host the summit, which will be for the North, by the North, with strong Indigenous content and participation.
The 2022 Arctic Arts Summit will focus on:
- improving understanding, engagement and support for northern artists, organizations, and communities;
- advancing international collaboration around the arts/cultures of peoples of the circumpolar Arctic region;
- advancing discourse on Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty, and cultural integrity in Canada and internationally, specifically as it relates to Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, and
- strengthening relationships between the Canada Council, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and other Northern regions of Canada.
In addition to the in-person summit, a digital platform will be created to broaden the reach of summit programming by inviting more voices into the conversations and providing space to showcase more work from the circumpolar north. This platform will also be the hub for a series of events in the year leading up to the summit itself.
More details, including a schedule of upcoming events, will be announced in the fall.
The Yukon is immensely proud to co-host this international symposium of circumpolar arts and culture for the first time in Canada. We look forward to working together with the Canada Council for the Arts as well as our many community partners throughout the North to create a truly innovative event that will highlight and advance the vision, voices and shared experiences of this unique region.
Minister of Tourism and Culture Ranj Pillai
The Canada Council is deeply committed to strengthening existing synergies and expanding connections with organizations and leaders in the North. The priorities we identify and the actions we take today to express and showcase the realities of the art and culture of the peoples of the circumpolar North, and in particular with Indigenous communities, are necessary building blocks to a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts Simon Brault
The Arctic Arts Summit will take place June 27 to 29, 2022.
This will be the third Arctic Arts Summit. The first was held in 2017 in Harstad, Norway. The second summit was held in Rovaniemi, Finland in 2019.
The summit was initially scheduled for June 2021, but was rescheduled due to COVID-19.
Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
[email protected]
Alicia Debreceni
Communications, Tourism and Culture
867-332-3670
[email protected]
Canada Council for the Arts
Communications and Engagement
613-239-3958
[email protected]