Artists across the North can feel a bit of relief this coming year as Inuvik’s largest festival is still standing, but will still need a lot of volunteer support to go forward.
Inuvik’s Great Northern Arts Festival is set for July 10 t0 15, but with a slightly reduced timeline as organizers make up for lost time and ensure the basic requirements are met.
“We are still sorting out festival details,” said GNAF co-chair Luisa Juliana Ospina Suarez. “The festival can only take place if the standards set in our bylaws are met. Therefore, volunteer info will be released following (GNAF board) election results.
“The current event plans have all the elements previous festival have had. They will simply run for a reduced amount of time.”
Adi Scott has taken the job as executive director of the festival this year.
Suarez said the board had filled four out of five positions and was preparing for the society’s annual general meeting, which is set for Jan. 29. According to the society’s bylaws, a minimum of five board members must be appointed before the festival can go forward. That means the society needs a chair, co-chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer. Additional board members at large are welcome.
Positions will be up for election at the AGM. Suarez said each position is a two-year term.
“Board meetings are hosted monthly,” she said. “A minimum of three board members is required to constitute quorum at any meeting. Any member of the board who is absent from three consecutive regular meetings of the board shall, unless such absence is excused by resolution of the board entered upon its minutes, forfeit office, and the board may appoint by motion a replacement who shall hold office for the remainder of the term.
“Personally, I am honoured to be a part of the board of directors. I look forward to helping the festival be as successful as it was. I have only been on the board since the end of this summer. I am excited to run once again in the upcoming elections. For further information about the AGM, please reach out to Adi at gnaf@inuvik.ca.”
GNAF was cancelled this summer due to “staffing concerns” and the society has been largely unheard of since then. Organization of the Inuvik Christmas Craft Fair, GNAF’s other major annual event, was outsourced this year.
Arguably Inuvik’s biggest festival, the Great Northern Arts Festival has been a regular part of Northern summers for more than 30 years. It was named the Best Music Venue at the 2022 NWT Music Awards, one of the top 25 festivals in North America by Rand McNally Maps, one of the top 50 summertime events in Canada by the Globe and Mail newspaper and one of 400 of the world’s best destinations among all four seasons of travel by National Geographic Magazine. It hosts more than 80 artists, 40 performers and showcases in excess of 4,000 pieces of art each year.