Qaggiavuut society to host performing arts summit

Nunavut performers, from left, Simeonie Keenainak, Etulu Aniugmiuq and Tim Evic had the crowd on their feet when they kicked off Alianait’s 2012 concert series at Iqaluit’s Nakasuk School Jan. 21. The Qaggiavuut! society hopes to build a venue specifically for the territory’s performing artists. (FILE PHOTO)

Qaggiavuut Society for a Nunavut Performing Arts Centre will host its first-ever Nunavut summit on the performing arts in Iqaluit this summer.

The June event will be a venue for artists and organizations to sit down and discuss the territory’s performing arts scene and what it means to Nunavummiut, said a March 20 news release.

Qaggiavuut will also use the event to present the second annual award for outstanding contribution to the Nunavut performing arts.

“The summit will bring together all members of the Qaggiavuut board and advisory council for the first time in order to consult on a vision for a performing arts centre that serves Nunavummiut,” said Qaggiavuut’s executive director Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory.

The summit will serve as a key first step in a feasibility study the organization hopes to launch this summer to look at the viability of Nunavut’s first regional performing arts centre.

Qaggiavuut says it plans to use the gathering to ask its members how a performing arts centre could have a positive impact and help to bridge the distance between Nunavut’s artists and communities.

“Nunavummiut deserve a beautiful building that is unique to our region and nurtures Inuit language, culture and art,” said Leena Evic, Qaggiavuut’s co-chair.

The summit will be hosted in Iqaluit, although the society has yet to announce a date or location for the event.

Qaggiavuut said the summit is supported by the Government of Nunavut’s department of Economic Development and Transportation as well as the Canada Council for the Arts.

The group anticipates its feasibility study could cost anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 to complete over 12 months.

If the study reveals strong support for a performing arts centre, Qaggiavuut plans to launch an international fundraising campaign for the project in 2013.