A sneak peek at some current and upcoming exhibitions and projects.
Canadian Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition/La Biennale di Venezia
Co-founded in 1990 by Zacharias Kunuk, OC, Norman Cohn, Paul Apak Angilirq (1954–1998) and Pauloosie Qulitalik (1939–2012), Isuma’s ground breaking work has garnered national and international acclaim. At their muchanticipated showcase at the 58th Venice Biennale, the team will debut their most recent feature film One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk alongside new experiments in live webcasting and global distribution of Indigenous language media art through iTunes. Here, Cohn discusses the multi-site project and what it means for media artists to occupy an analogue environment: We’re video artists, which means our work by definition is made to be seen in multiple locations in multiple iterations. We consider the Canada Pavilion in Venice a hub from which digital Inuit storytelling can bounce into other venues and platforms that are accessible to more diverse audiences.
For Venice, our newest feature recreates literally one day when Iglulik Inuit life on the land changed forever, seeing the sudden impact of the modern world on Indigenous people everywhere. Our other new venture is Silakut Live, an experiment in live webcasting from Iglulik, NU and the Arctic wilderness to Venice. And, through Venice, online to the whole world.
On March 15 we launch Isuma on iTunes, the first collection of Indigenous language media art offered on a global mainstream platform. Eight Isuma films in five subtitled languages will be available on iTunes in thirty countries this spring before the Venice exhibition opens, with more added, including One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, during the seven months of the Biennale. For Isuma, the exhibition is an activist opportunity to bring Indigenous language video into today’s global media environment for the first time. To us, the value of being chosen for Venice is to expand digital access to Inuit storytelling to a worldwide audience, where millions of people can see it whenever they want. For more details, stay tuned at www.isuma.tv.