Nunavut artists get support during COVID-19 restrictions

Nunavut singer-songwriter Joshua Qaumariaq is used to performing for an audience with his band The Trade-Offs. Usually, a packed one.

But lately, Qaumariaq has been performing alone, with no stage. His invisible audience lives on the other side of a satellite internet connection and a cell phone screen.

“I’m just alone in a room, playing to a camera. I don’t know how YouTubers do it all the time,” Qaumariaq laughed.

Qaumariaq said that despite not being able to be together, isolation has given him and his band a chance to focus on writing more music.

For artists across the territory feeling the effects of COVID-19 prevention, virtual concerts are becoming more common. Gigs have been cancelled, festivals postponed and performing spaces shut down.

But Victoria Perron, executive director of Alianait Arts Festival, said with funding from Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation, the festival has helped put together a new way for northern artists to perform, and get paid, during the pandemic.

Alianait’s annual music festival, which brings together artists from across Nunavut and around the world, has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Its upcoming concerts have also been cancelled.

“For us, it was pretty clear right away that we had the power to do something where we didn’t have any concerts coming up and we all the sudden had this space because the festival was postponed,” Perron said.

That’s when Alianait decided to launch a virtual concert series, with live online performances every Friday. Perron said Alianait wants to have one or two concerts a week and hopes to add artist workshops to the lineup.

“Music has become so important and the arts have become so important to people during the last couple weeks,” Perron said.

And artists who perform at these virtual concerts are compensated for their work, just like they would be for a regular gig, Perron said.

This also isn’t the first time Alianait has looked at connecting Nunavut’s communities virtually, Perron said.

“We’ve live-streamed our last two festivals and a bunch of our concerts as well. Internet connection isn’t very fast in all the communities but it’s getting faster and it’s a great way to allow people who can’t make it to Iqaluit for concerts for the weekend to still join in and see live performances,” Perron said.

“So it’s this sort of evolution but it’s just evolving a lot faster than we thought it was going to.”

Last Friday, Alianait hosted a free online concert with Igoolik singer-songwriter Joshua Haulli, which Perron said around 350 people tuned into.

“If you’re a working musician and you would like to get support from Alianait and do an online concert, please reach out to us through email or Facebook and let us know,” Perron said.

“We want people to be connected. It’s a scary time. It’s stressful and it’s important to know that your whole community has you.”

Qaggiavuut, an Iqaluit-based charity that advocates for a performing arts hub in the territory, also recently diverted all its fundraising efforts to support performing artists who lost work because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Ellen Hamilton, Qaggiavuut’s executive director, said the effect on artists was immediate.

“People all the sudden lost thousands and thousands of dollars. There were conferences going on in March and April, festivals, gigs that people had known about for months. It just drops and they’re left having to feed their kids and themselves. All artists struggle. Nobody makes a lot of money and so they’re on an edge all the time,” Hamilton said.

Qaggiavuut immediately launched an emergency relief fund for Inuit and Nunavut performing artists.

To date, Qaggiavuut has received $15,000 in donations to the fund, which has already supported 17 artists, Hamilton said.

“We want to make sure they’re protected. We want them to continue writing and practising in isolation so they’re ready to go out again when this is all over. We need their stories and their songs and their voices,” Hamilton said.

To access the fund, Hamilton said artists can send a message to Qaggiavuut’s Facebook page with the following information: how COVID-19 cancellations have affected them as an artist, how much income they lost and an idea of their immediate financial needs.

Hamilton said the emergency fund is meant to support artists until federal funding through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit becomes available April 7.

To apply for funding through the federal program, artists will need an account with the Canada Revenue Agency, a SIN number, proof that within the last year they earned $5,000 in the gig or contract economy and a bank account.

For Qaumariaq, he, along with Iqaluit rapper Fxckmr will take to their socially-isolated stages for another Alianait concert tonight, live-streamed on Facebook, at 7 p.m. EST.