The artistic practice of content creator, producer, and writer Braden Kealy Kadlun Johnston emerged from his on screen advocacy on both social media and film. Born in Yellowknife, NT, and based in Calgary, AB, Johnston’s work relays the lived experiences of Indigenous communities, especially Inuit, by celebrating everyday aspects of life while highlighting more difficult topics like addiction and sobriety. The artist got his start acting in a small part for the 2018 film The Grizzlies—a sports drama that examines the disproportionately high suicide rate amongst Inuit youth in the artist’s hometown of Kugluktuk, NU.
Johnston’s content on social media has drawn attention from millions worldwide, prompting the artist’s selection for the 2022 TikTok Accelerator Program. Drawing on moments of intimacy and reconciliation between himself and his mother, Hovak Johnston, the pair went viral on TikTok (@kadlun) for their videos depicting traditional Inuit practices. “One of my favorite things to share is Inuit culture with my mother,” says Johnston. “[It’s] a special opportunity to teach so many about who Inuit are and how they've lived and how they continue how we continue to live. Whether that be food, language, or whatever it may be, we've had a lot of fun with it.” [1] The video that catapulted Johnston to over 14 million views captures Hovak demonstrating how to prepare muktuk using an ulu. Johnston says his mother, who in her own artistic practice works to revive traditional Inuit art forms such as sewing and Inuit tattoo revitalization, is his greatest artistic influence.
Noting the appetite for sharing Indigenous knowledge and representation more broadly, Johnston began producing and hosting a television series supported by StoryHive: Local Lives, which is set to be featured on Telus Optik TV on demand in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as on Braden’s personal Youtube channel (@kadlun). The series highlights the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples residing around the Calgary area. Indigenous owned businesses, artists, knowledge keepers, and elders are all featured with “the goal of demystifying the Indigenous experience and bridging that gap of understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous to show… we're people too and we're still here.”
In addition to his current on-screen content creation, Johnston is working on a book detailing his personal experience with sobriety as an Indigenous youth, which is set to be published in 2024. Johnston says writing, especially poetry, is his preferred creative method, and sees the publishing of this book to be the first in a series that will offer a vulnerable, safe space that addresses the “harsh realities of [the] Northern Indigenous youth base.”
Advocacy is also central to the artist’s academic studies. Johnston is currently pursuing a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, with further plans for a Masters degree and then a PhD focusing on bringing an Inuk perspective to the classical, western canon of ethics and philosophy in academia. Beyond academia, Johnston also hopes to build on his literary practice: “I want to have four books under my belt,” within the next five years, he says.
This Profile was made possible through support from RBC Emerging Artists.