Pop-up concert hypes upcoming Pan-Arctic Vision event in Iqaluit

The packed pre-lunch crowd at Iqaluit’s Black Heart Café fell silent Wednesday morning as Allan Kangok of Igloolik’s Northern Haze cut through the bustle with an Ayaya song and a guitar serenade.

And that was just the technician doing the soundcheck.

Hans-Henrik Suersaq Poulsen, a drummer from Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland, performs at Iqaluit’s Black Heart Café, Wednesday. (Photo by Daron Letts)

Pan-Arctic Vision’s free lunch-hour “pop-up concert” provided a sneak peek at the weekend’s international main event, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the cadet hall. 

“It went great,” said Amund Sjølie Sveen, the event’s Norwegian artistic director, following Wednesday’s performances, which featured artists from Greenland and Russia.

Sveen and four other Norwegians are joined in Iqaluit by four Greenlandic technicians and stage managers who are working with Kangok and other trainees behind the scenes.

The foursome is working under the umbrella of the Alianait Arts Festival, which is handling local logistics.

These include fellow Igloolik resident and Artcirq alumnus Jacky Qrunnut and Pangnirtung artists Grace Metuq and Benjamin Arnaqaq. The foursome is providing technical and organizational support to Pan-Arctic Vision while strengthening their skillsets.

It’s part of a $250,000 employment-related training program funded by Kakivak Association, the community economic development organization for the Qikiqtani Region.

The event provides an effective opportunity, said Kakivak representative William Hopkins.

“It’s certainly a highlight of our programming year,” he said.

Hans-Henrik Suersaq Poulsen, a drummer from Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland, kicked off Wednesday’s free show, providing his own back-up vocals using a series of looped hums recorded in real-time.

He and Alianait co-executive director Jaqqa Petersen later provided live backup for fellow Greenlander Kimmernaq Kjeldsen, from Aasiaat, who offered some unconventional love songs.

“Love is everywhere. On the ground we walk on, in the sky, in nature,” she said. “It’s not about ownership. It’s about freedom.”

The hour ended with a rapid series of compact traditional songs and instrumentals by Saina, the stage name of Ekaterina Savvinova, a Yakutsk singer from the Siberian region of Yakutia in Russia. 

She created the sound of reindeer galloping across tundra by tapping her fingers on the top of a jaw harp. The audience responded with rhythmic clapping.

The next Pan-Arctic Vision free pop-up concert is scheduled for noon Thursday at Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre. A free all-ages version of the main concert is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at the cadet hall.

Established as a one-time circumpolar event in Vadsø, Norway, in 2023, Pan-Arctic Vision returned last year with a second concert in Nuuk, Greenland.

With this year’s concert hosted in Iqaluit, organizers are musing about adding the adjective “annual” before its brand, Sveen said.