Art: a language for the students of Puvirnituq to express their concerns
Have you heard about this? A group of 25 students from Iguarsivik School have not only won an Initiative Prize, one of the Essor Recognition Awards categories, but their artworks are also on exhibit at Quebec City’s Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) until June 24, 2024.
We met with a few of the key players in this project in order to tell you about it. Now discover these artworks for yourself, and hear what the students have to say about them.
Students Connie Ittukallak (Puvirnituq) and Velesie Adams (Ivijivik) are sitting in a quiet corner in the museum. On my computer screen, a journalist is asking them, “But how can there be inspiration in a garbage dump?”
“Because it’s so rich!” Connie answers without a moment’s hesitation.
She explains how all the things that are thrown away there end up being like the village archives. Some things are from another time, others could still be reused; you never know what you may come across. Still other things are strikingly beautiful… certain materials that elicit a real esthetic response, such as rust on metal with its many colours and textures… These all contributed to the inspiration for some of the students’ photographs.
Meanwhile, the dump is also the source of unseen toxic emissions. “There has to be some better way to look after all that waste!” Connie exclaims.
In the art class taught by Nathalie Claude, climate change and pollution gradually became an important concern for the students. These problems form a central theme in their artistic experimentations, and they express them through performance, music, visual arts and photography.
In Nunavik, the effects of climate change are felt every day. “Our way of life used to exist in harmony with the environment. Nowadays, it’s hard to know what is going to happen next, especially for the hunters. The weather is so unpredictable…” says Connie, speaking to a group gathered for an event organized by the MNBAQ in March 2024 to showcase the Tarratuutiq | Taima exhibit.
I’m very proud of this project and to have this chance to talk about what is happening in our little village […] I’m very honoured […] to have a place to talk about it, because there are not many places where we can be heard when we want to express our concerns about the problems in our village.
The students’ artwork was displayed outdoors in Puvirnituq, on walls around various locations in the village, where people of all generations had the opportunity to see them. Many questions were raised, which gave students the opportunity to have conversations that addressed their worries about climate change.
Connie says she was surprised at the project’s capacity to engage people’s interest. “It brought together so many of the people in our village. Some participated that I had not expected to.”
Like the Inuit themselves, the artworks created by the students of Iguarsivik School have inhabited the land. They will continue to do so as, during the coming months, they will travel around visiting other villages in Nunavik.
Learn more about the MNBAQ exhibit Tarratuutiq | Taima ➔
