Ptbo Examiner: Opinion | AGP exhibit brings awareness to Arctic waste crisis

Art + Waste in Panniqtuuq runs until Oct. 5.

By Naomi Stock Special to the Examiner
Naomi Stock is a freelance contributor for the Examiner.

Art + Waste in Panniqtuuq is the title of a new exhibition now on at the Art Gallery of Peterborough (AGP). Combining the works of an ad hoc group of artists, the exhibition aims to bring awareness to the Artic community of Panniqtuuq and its urgent waste crisis. It runs until Oct. 5.

Panniqtuuq, Nunavut, is a remote community located on the East Coast of Baffin Island, with a population of about 1,500 people, mostly Inuit. Melting Arctic permafrost — due to climate change, increased shipping and cruise ships in the Northwest Passage, and expansion of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) — is resulting in increased waste and contaminants in the community, and causing dramatic changes to the land, sea, ice, and its inhabitants.

The exhibition includes the works of eight Inuit artists — Madeleine Aasivak Qumuataq, Jupa Ishulutak, Kawtysie Kakee, Annie Kilabuk, David Kilabuk, Talia Metuq, Oleepika Nashalik, Malaya Pitsiulak — and Micky Renders, a settler artist and researcher. The artists share their stories through painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, tapestry and digital media. According to organizers, “this show aims to open axes of dialogue and support for Inuit sovereignty, self-determination, and the right to a healthy and safe environment. It ultimately asks us: who gets to define Arctic waste and who is responsible for it?” 

Read the full article at The Peterborough Examiner