It will look a bit different from normal, but the Great Northern Arts Festival is locked and loaded for this summer, running July 13 to 15.
Instead of the usual 10-day extravaganza, this year the festival will be a three-day symposium format mainly focused on gathering NWT artists.
Dubbed Returning To Our Roots: Great Northern Artist Gathering, the festival will mainly consist of workshops, seminars and other artist-focused sessions to help artists brainstorm strategies to continuing their work in the post-Covid-19 world.
"This year’s symposium-style format is open to artists from within the NWT and will be compliant with the territory’s current Phase 2 Covid 19 Public Health Orders and all other CPHO recommendations," reads a press release by GNAF chair Mary Ann Villeneuve. "The festival will return to normal in 2022, but this year’s event is intended to serve as a chance for northern artists to safely regroup and reunite after being apart for two years, while acknowledging that little tourism can be expected in the Inuvik region this summer.
"Returning To Our Roots, however, is also meant to recall the spirit of the original Great Northern Arts Festival, held over thirty years ago. The shorter duration is a unique opportunity for the many talented artists from communities across the Beaufort Delta, who cannot normally attend the festival for the full ten days, to come to Inuvik and participate for a shorter amount of time. "
Started in 1989, the festival has been a beacon of tourism annually for performers, carvers, craftspeople and other artisans who would otherwise not have a chance to gather and exchange ideas.
Noting the festival intends to go back to its regular programming in 2022, the press release notes opportunities for the public to interact with the festival will be limited this year, with opportunities for markets and taking part in educational workshops still being determined.
Any artist who wishes to attend is asked to visit the festival's website. Additional details are expected in the coming weeks.