The Sivertson Gallery Inuit Premiere offers a glimpse into Inuit culture, past and present, including a delightful performance of Kattajjak, or throat singing. Back by popular demand will be Nina Segalowitz and Lydia Etok.
Sivertson Gallery opens its 13th Annual Inuit Premiere in Grand Marais with a screening of the documentary Kinngait: Riding Light Into The World at 7 p.m. Friday, March 15. On Saturday, March 16, the eagerly anticipated Kattajjak: Nunavik-style Throat- Singers Nina Segalowitz and Lydia Etok will deliver two short performances throughout the day, followed by a full interactive evening performance. All of these events at Sivertson Gallery are free and open to the public.
Set in the Canadian Arctic the one-hour Kinngait documentary introduces the remarkable artists and community of the isolated Inuit village of Cape Dorset, while illuminating the artists’ role in the formation, development and international celebration of Inuit Art. The documentary screening coincides well with Sivertson Gallery’s recent trip to the Dorset Fine Arts print archives in Toronto.
This year’s premiere will offer many unique prints available for purchase. The Kinngait documentary features many important artists, but most tenderly the film gives a closer look at world-renowned Modern Inuit artist, the late Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013). Ashevak was one of the first Inuit women in Cape Dorset to begin drawing and enjoyed an immensely popular career, with many of her pieces finding homes in museums throughout Canada.
Back by popular demand, the Kattajjak: Nunavik-style Throat- Singers Nina Segalowitz of Fort Smith, NWT and Lydia Etok of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec will be the Gallery’s featured cultural performers. The artists will engage in two short presentations throughout the day, and end with a full scale interactive performance at 6 p.m. of their highly acclaimed throat-singing. Two women adorned in their winter dress lock arms, manipulate air to produce exciting harmonies from their lungs and lips, rock back and forth and eventually end with an inevitable burst of laughter. Whoever is the first to laugh, and sometimes it is up to the audience to decide, loses the round.
In addition to a fascinating throat-singing performance on Saturday night, Segalowitz and Etok will encourage the audience to participate in the fun, tell stories and also explain the delicate balance of their two important worlds—traditional life in the Arctic and modern life “down south.” This delicate weave has created very impressive and captivating journeys for these two Inuit women.
For a complete schedule and more information see www.sivertson.com.
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