Artcirq is an

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

performance collective based in

Igloolik Igloolik ( Inuktitut syllabics: , ''Iglulik'', ) is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be on th ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

, Canada. It was co-founded in 1998 by

Guillaume Saladin Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War espi ...

and several circus artists from Montreal and youth from Igloolik, with the financial support of Igloolik Isuma Productions, Canada's first Inuit independent production company and

Cirque Éloize Cirque Éloize is a contemporary circus company founded in Montreal in 1993 by Daniel Cyr, Claudette Morin, Jeannot Painchaud and Julie Hamelin. Since 2004, it has its headquarters and creation studio in Old Montreal inside the former Dalhousie S ...

. Its activities provide Inuit youth with a vehicle for creative expression that maintains strong links to Inuit traditions and performance styles. Artcirq members blend techniques of modern circus arts such as

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

, and

clowning A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in t ...

with traditional Inuit cultural practices including Inuit traditional games,

throat singing Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures around the world. The most distinctive feature of such vocal practices is to be associated to some type of guttural voice, that contrasts with the most common types of voi ...

, and drum dancing to create meaningful and original work through performing arts, music, and video. Notable performers with the troupe have included singer-songwriter

Terry Uyarak Terry Uyarak is an Inuk singer-songwriter from Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada, whose debut album ''Nunarjua Isulinginniani'' was released in 2020. Prior to launching his musical career, Uyarak was a performer and artistic director with Artcirq, an Inu ...

.Jean Siag
"Les 7 doigts coproduisent un spectacle au Nunavut"
'' La Presse'', July 1, 2019. Artcirq has been invited to perform across the globe from Mexico to Greece to Timbuktu, including the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony and Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee pageant in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. The collective has produced numerous short films as well as three albums: ''Artcirq Jam'', ''Made In Igloolik'', and ''Kikkukia''. The documentary film ''Circus Without Borders'', produced by Northern Light Productions, features Artcirq's story. More recently, Artcirq members have been coordinating an extra-curricular community arts program for youth at its Black Box studio in Igloolik. It is through these projects that Artcirq enables Inuit artists to express and redefine themselves together in their changing world.

References

External links

Artcirq's website

Link to Artcirq videos

Link to the documentary about Artcirq
Canadian circus performers Arts organizations established in 1998 Culture of Nunavut Organizations based in Nunavut Inuit culture {{Nunavut-stub