The opportunity to meet here in Whitehorse with other Inuit artists from all around Inuit Nunangat and Canada as a whole has been such a rejuvenating experience that I feel couldn’t have come at a better time. After the last couple of years of an isolating global pandemic, feeling that connection with others again has reignited my desire to create. I am myself again, I am feeling enriched and recharged, and everyone I’ve talked to has been filled with an unexpected and newfound inspiration to make art again. Colleagues and friends that I had only met virtually over the past two to three years feel like friends I’ve known since childhood. The mindsets and creativity of everyone attending have contributed to our collective growth. With an amazing start to the week, I am beyond excited to attend the rest of the talks, presentations, and gatherings at this year’s Arctic Arts Summit!

The Arctic Arts Summit’s Knowledge Creators Next program brings together northern Indigenous post-secondary students, young activists and emerging professionals to attend the Summit. Participants in the Knowledge Creators Next (KCN) program will be sharing their daily reflections—in the form of tweets, photographs, poems, sketches, videos or other short responses—on the Arctic Arts Summit’s digital platform and across social media.