Should the Northern hemisphere stand independent from the south? Who should benefit from and control the natural resources that richly populate the North?
It is questions like these that NORDTING — the ‘People’s Assembly’ — will pose during an upcoming event at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) on March 1 in Yellowknife.
Described as an “enthusiastic and challenging mix of a political rally, gala show and PowerPoint lecture,” the assembly, visiting from Norway, is an attempt to empower and to play with the idea of local self-determination in the form of an art project, said Amund Sjølie Sveen, a Norwegian artist, writer and researcher, as well as being the head of the five-person assembly.
Sveen said in Nordic countries as far back as one thousand years ago there has been the concept of a people’s assembly that made the laws of the land during the beginnings of democracy.
The NORDTING assembly is “an attempt to empower and to play with the idea of local self-determination,” he said.
“I think working in the field of art, I think we need to believe that art has the power to influence policy,” Sveen said.
“I think what the world of art can offer us is a testing ground to try out concepts, to try out opinions and ideas. One of the assembly members or the audience then votes on the issues. These are issues that we find locally, and also global issues.”
Comparable issues
In his homeland of Norway, where the concept of the NORDTING Northern Assembly was first established in 2014, Sveen said many of the issues revolve around whether the north of Norway should separate and become its own state from the south and also, because it is a coastal nation, who should benefit from its rich fishery and pipeline.
He said each country or region the nomadic assembly visits has its own unique event.
“The way that we do our homework, we always try to research the place we are visiting and talk to people who know the area and also spend a few days in in the place as well, to gather information and try to incorporate the local issues,” Sveen said.
What he has found fascinating in his circumpolar travels, he said, is that while many issues have their “local flavour,” many have a common thread and are quite similar.
“One of the central issues I think is the ownership to local natural resources. So, who will decide rights to mine and rights to fish, rights to hunt and rights to drill oil, and who will benefit from that happening,” he said.
During the gala performance, Sveen said along with the People’s Assembly political rally, there will be “music and dancing and other fun and humorous things happening.”
Northern talent included
One of the musical guests during the event will be the Karen Single Band (AKA Welder’s Daughter), a decades-long mainstay in the Yellowknife music scene.
Band member Karen Novak said she was contacted to perform during the event because of her association with the NACC mentorship program and her work with presenting her original music and theatrical show.
Some of the songs on her new album have political overtones, she said, and she’s looking forward to participating and learning about the concept of the assembly.
“I love the fact that it’s all about giving power to the North. I love that concept, so I was quite keen,” Novak said.
“So, the songs — we had a couple of choices and one of them was about waking up. The other one that I’m going to perform is called White Light and it’s all about coming out of the darkness and, you know, sort of seeing things for the first time. And we’re free when we do that, so they liked the idea of the concept of that song as well.”
Novak said she and her bandmates are excited to perform their original music as part of live theatre.
“It’s just a special thing for us to do that.”
Sveen said the group always ensures they include local talent in their performances.
In Yellowknife, along with the Karen Single Band, Kiera-Dawn Kolson and also Gnarwhal will be on stage.
After the performance, Sveen said the audiences usually feel enlightened in a positive way.
“The world of art gives us this frame to experiment and to try out different worlds, or different solutions to the world.”
—By Jill Westerman