A series of multidisciplinary events -Artists from Nunavik

La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse is pleased to launch Women of the Arctic, a series of exhibitions and events showcasing multidisciplinary works by Inuit artists from Nunavik and Nunavut. The series, which will develop over a period of three years, consists of exhibitions, performances and projections evenings, as well as artist presentations. It seeks to promote the work of female artists whose particular sensibility crystallizes into remarkable artworks through different media of artistic production.

La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse is happy to contribute to the visibility of these artists whom, through their unique approach and community-based culture, work outside of the mainstream in art, breaking with certain precepts of contemporary art and its modernist heritage such as individualism and the separation of art and crafts. In contrast with the usual context in which we are used to seeing Inuit art, in museums or commercial galleries, Women of the Arctic seeks to show the variety of approaches and subject matters addressed by these artists. First and foremost, this series aims to bring strong and pertinent artistic productions forward to the wider public and to the local artistic community.

The first edition of this series, presented in collaboration with Avataq Cultural Institute and curated by Noémi McComber, will take place from November 19th to December 19th 2010 and features an exhibition of works on paper of five artists from Nunavik (details below). An evening of performances will take place on the opening night, November the 19th, with Taqralik Partridge and her guests. On December 16th, Marie-Hélène Cousineau of Arnait Video productions will present an evening of video screenings, featuring the films and videos of Elisapie Isaac, Alethea-Ann Aggiuq Arnaquq-Baril and Mary Kunuk. 

ENCIRCLE

Leah Nuvalinga Qumaluk

Maggie S. Kiatainaq

Jessie Koneak Jones 

Jennifer Lapage 

Laina Nulukie

Exhibition November 19 to December 19, 2010

Opening November 19, 7pm

Performances during the opening at 7:30 with Taqralik Partridge and guests

Soirée Powerhouse projections Thursday December 16, 7pm

Spanning over more than four decades, the works showcased in this exhibition point to a rich and diverse artistic production, addressing key themes traditionally associated with femininity such as maternity, domesticity, dressmaking, while also exploring the realm of dreams, spirituality and rituals belonging to Inuit culture. In between tradition, modernity and current realities, the artists navigate through interior and exterior spaces, capturing and tracing the world they live in while scrutinizing the memory of a past which is still vivid.

Echoing La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse’s new mandate, this exhibition links different generations of Nunavimmiut female artists, whose works are largely underrepresented in Quebec’s cultural institutions and contemporary art world. From this perspective, the exhibition brings together the works of three generations of artists through the media of drawing and print.

These graphic media have a longstanding existence in northern communities and are particularly practised and prized by Inuit women artists. The works in this exhibition are marked by a shared experience, exploring daily life in the Arctic; they reveal the artists’ acute sense of observation and sensitivity to their environment.

Laina Nulukie, who is currently the artist in residence in Montreal, of the new Nunavik Fund for Arts and Literature, in conjunction with CALQ, will be present in the gallery during the first week of the exhibition. She will develop a new body of work in relation to the themes exposed in the exhibition.

A discussion with the artists is scheduled on Saturday November 20^th at 3 pm with Maggie S. Kiatainaq, Jessie Koneak Jones, Jennifer Lapage and Laina Nulukie. The artists will be in conversation with performance artist Taqralik Partridge and Louis Gagnon of Avataq Cultural Institute.

La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse would like to thank

Avataq Cultural Institute

First Air

Depute Amir Khadir

for their invaluable support to this exhibition.