Imagining Possible Futures: Relate North 10 Connected Northern and Indigenous Communities Through Art

Relate North 10: Possible Futures was more than a symposium and exhibition; it was an opportunity for artists, scholars, and researchers from across the circumpolar North to share knowledge, creativity, and lived experiences on an international stage. Made possible through funding from the University of the Arctic (UArctic)’s Project Funding for Indigenous and Northern Collaborative Research and Education Engagement, the gathering underscored the importance of investing in spaces where Northern voices lead the conversation.

The funding allowed Yukon University’s School of Visual Arts, in partnership with the University of Lapland, to host this event as part of the UArctic’s Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design, ensuring that artists and scholars from across the circumpolar world could showcase academic and artistic projects that engaged with the theme Possible Futures.

For participants, the impact was profound. Yukon-based artists such as Jackie Olson and Annie Procee brought forward works rooted in local traditions and language, addressing both cultural resilience and pressing environmental concerns. Olson’s willow fish weir sculpture highlighted the cultural and ecological significance of salmon. Procee’s documentary Shëtsey Hwëdëk preserved the voice and knowledge of her grandfather, Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin elder Percy Henry, the last fluent speaker of the Hän language. These projects demonstrated how community-based art can safeguard knowledge, honor traditions, and foster intergenerational continuity.

The funding also made it possible to circulate these perspectives beyond the event itself, with a limited-edition catalogue designed by Yukon artist Amy Ball helping to preserve and share the exhibition’s work. The outcomes extended well beyond the Yukon: new international partnerships were established between Northern Canadian and Scandinavian artists and researchers, opening doors for ongoing collaboration through UArctic’s Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design’s Living in the Landscape field school and related initiatives.

By centering community voices and providing the resources needed to amplify them, Relate North 10 showed how investment in arts and culture can advance Indigenous governance, support language revitalization, and empower youth engagement. As Project Lead Aubyn O’Grady noted, the goal was not simply to showcase work, but to “mobilize and share examples of what we know works at each of our specific sites.” This approach ensured that the event was rooted in community realities, while also contributing to circumpolar knowledge exchange.

Relate North 10 stands as an example of how dedicated funding and international networks like UArctic can help Northern and Indigenous communities imagine and shape possible futures; ones grounded in cultural survival, sustainability, and resilience.

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LOGO DESIGN

The Relate North logo was adapted from a sculpture by Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in artist Jackie Olson. Concentric circles are a significant symbol to the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, who are descendants of the First Peoples to inhabit the area surrounding the Yukon School of Visual Arts, and whose ancestors belonged to language groups including Hän, Gwich’in, and Northern Tutchone speakers. The symbol is found on many of the belongings from the before times, including graveyard posts and ceremonial sheep horn spoons. The concentric circles are considered a storytelling portal.

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IMAGE: Nordic Connections, Prototype {film still}