Critical Writing Index

Arnait Ikajurtigiit: Women Helping Each Other

by Alissa Firth-Eagland

Art Gallery of York University, 2019

The booklet accompanying the exhibition Arnait Ikajurtigiit: Women Helping Each Other, on view at the Art Gallery of York University from April 17 to June 23, 2019. "Arnait Video Productions is a dynamic collective of women filmmakers from the North whose films speak directly to the lives of its Inuit and non-Inuit members…. This exhibition is grounded in Arnait's artworks, records and stories by and for the community in Igloolik." (Quote taken from introduction.)

The booklet contains an introduction written by the curator, with a timeline of Arnait Video Productions projects. Arnait Ikajurtigiit was a primary exhibition of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. CONTACT describes the exhibition with the following: "Arnait’s original name in Inuktitut, Arnait Ikajurtigiit, means 'women helping each other.' Its works are uniquely collaborative and produced from a fiercely female perspective: investigatory and tender at the same time. The collective explores time-based art in the broadest possible definition, from hand-making objects using traditional methods to producing digital art.

"The filmmakers’ subjects are equally broad: Inuit tradition, self-determination, children, family, intergenerational learning, and new ways of communicating and being together across the geographic distances and cultural differences between North and South. They also address difficult contemporary issues affecting post-contact Inuit life, including suicide, mental health, racism, addiction, and the environmental destruction resulting from resource extraction in the North. The collective’s production values reflect the cultural values of participants, such as: respect for Elders, hunting and fishing seasons, traditions belonging to particular families, and community events. They work as a team to write each script, to make the costumes and props, and to shape the interaction and performances of the actors. Demonstrating strength, grace, humour, and resilience, the works offer a model of learning by doing. Arnait’s rare and urgent collaborative working model is useful for everyone at a time when Indigenous-settler relations in Canada, and North-South relations in North America, are deeply strained. In spite of the ever-growing influence of Western culture, Inuit people today continue to thrive through adaptation that brings together innovation and tradition. Seen from the perspective of women of Igloolik over three decades, the works in the exhibition (including film, objects, and photography) show the continual change inherent to Inuit life. Throughout, intergenerational teachings hold strong."

ITEM 2019.037 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Susan Avingaq

Mary Qulitalik

Rebecca Malliki

Madeline Ivalu

Arnait Video Productions

Mary Kunuk