“Inuit Piqutingit/What Belongs to Inuit”: Videos and Films by Igloolik Isuma Productions
Curated by Mary-Louise Davis

23 November 2009 – 31 January 2010

“Isuma” is an Inuktitut word that means “thinking:” thoughtful reflection embodies the principle goals and aesthetic of Igloolik Isuma. This exhibition presents videos made at Igloolik Isuma Productions, as well as two other companies – Arnait and Artcirq. Arnait Video Productions is a women’s company run by Marie-Helene Cousineau and Mary Kunuk. Artcirq is a youth-run production company that operates in affiliation with Igloolik’s youth circus group.
Forty-one videos, films and documentaries comprise the fixed weekly program that will repeat ten times through the exhibition. The web will also play a role, as Isuma has recently established IsumaTV.com, a website that continuously broadcasts Aboriginal video from around the world. Visitors are invited to browse the site in the gallery and comment about the exhibition on a blog.
The videos of Igloolik Isuma Productions, Arnait and Artcirq are important because they have worked within Igloolik to bolster local control over the community, to present and promote an alternative to Western-style film and television, and to conserve Inuit knowledge and broadcast it beyond the North.