Several Circumpolar Films Will Screen at imagineNATIVE
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival begins next month in Toronto, ON. The in-person festival has moved from the fall to June, aligning with National Indigenous History Month. This year, it will take place from June 3-8, 2025 and online from June 9-15, 2025. 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of imagineNATIVE, and the festival is featuring a number of throwback screenings from previous years of the festival to celebrate, including Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s 2014 short film Aviliaq: Entwined. This year’s festival offers circumpolar stories told through a dozen films from Inuit Nunangat, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) and Sápmi. Spanning genres and format, this year’s circumpolar screenings include Witness: Arctic Indigenous Voices (2025), a short documentary directed by Ashley Qilavaq-Savard, Carmen Kuptana, Eriel Lugt, Jennifer Kilabuk, Johannes Vang, Marc Fussing Rosbach and Princess Daazhraii Johnson; Nancy (2025), a short directed by Eva Grant that tells the story of Nancy Columbia Eneutseak (1893–1959), the first Indigenous screenwriter; and Áhkuin (2024), an experimental documentary short from Sámi directors Guhtur Niillas Rita Duomis/Tuomas Kumpulainen and Radio-JusSunná/Sunná Nousuniemi.
Abraham Anghik Ruben Retrospective opens at WAG-Qaumajuq
Over 100 sculptures and paintings spanning the career of Abraham Anghik Ruben, OC, from 1975 to 2025 are featured in a solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq’s Qilak gallery. Guest curator Heather Campbell says, “This exhibition will follow Abraham Anghik Ruben’s journey from reclaiming Inuit culture, to being comfortable as an individual with broad interests, and finally being celebrated as an artist worthy of representing humanity as a whole.” The exhibition opened on May 24 and will be up at WAG-Qaumajuq until May 2026.
Sanaaq Centre Opens in Montreal, featuring Mary Paningajak’s Solo Exhibition
On May 10, a new culture and community centre that pays tribute to Inuit creativity and heritage opened in downtown Montreal, QC. Named after Sanaaq (1984), which means “to make” and is the title of the first novel written in Inuktitut by Nunavik author Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk, CM (1931–2007), the Sanaaq Centre is a multi-use facility that was developed in collaboration with residents and Indigenous partners, including the Avataq Cultural Institute. It hosts a library with over 84,000 items—including the city's largest Indigenous book collection—a 255-seat performance hall, exhibition spaces, a culinary lab, media lab and urban agriculture space. The inaugural exhibition, Sikutsaja, features the work of Ivujivik, Nunavik, QC, graphic artist Mary Paningajak and will be on display until August 23.
North of North Renewed for Season 2
With a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and making Netflix’s top 10 in 27 countries, it’s no surprise that the Arctic comedy series North of North has been picked up for another season. Co-created and produced by Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, the show follows Siaja, a young Inuk mother who dreams of reinventing herself after a spontaneous, very public exit from her marriage. Lead actress Anna Lambe was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series at the 2025 Gotham TV Awards for her portrayal of Siaja. Filmed in Iqaluit, NU, North of North is an APTN, CBC and Netflix original series—the first Netflix original series from Canada.
Aedan Corey Shortlisted for the 2025 Indigenous Voices Award
Inuk artist and writer Aedan Corey is one of five finalists in the Published Poetry category for the eighth annual Indigenous Voices Award (IVA). Corey’s nominated poetry collection, KINAUVUNGA?/ᑭᓇᐅᕗᖓ (2024), is accompanied by their own original illustrations. Since its founding in 2017, the IVAs have awarded $206,000 in crowd-funded money to emerging Indigenous writers working across genres and languages. It is the only major literary prize recognizing the work of emerging Indigenous writers. This year’s winners of the Published Prose and Poetry categories will be announced on June 21, 2025 and will receive $5,000.
Tarralik Duffy’s Solo Exhibition Opens at the Remai Modern
On May 24, writer, multidisciplinary artist and designer Tarralik Duffy’s exhibition Klik My Heels, opened at the Remai Modern. Originally from Salliq (Coral Harbour), SU, and now residing in Saskatoon, SK, Duffy’s work often draws on pop culture and her cultural heritage, examining contemporary Inuit culture and her experiences as an Inuk living between her Arctic island home and the South. Klik My Heels features digital drawings and soft sculptures that examine home, family, cultural knowledge and shared memories. Duffy was the winner of the 2021 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award and is currently longlisted for the 2025 Sobey Art Award. Her work has been exhibited in several museums, including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the WAG-Qaumajuq. Klik My Heels is on view until October 12.