Perspectives on art, culture and climate change from Canadian Geographic

For over 90 years, Canadian Geographic has published stories about the North—its dramatic, ice-sculpted landscapes, its unique flora and fauna, and the resilience and ingenuity of those who call the Arctic home. In this century, these stories are underpinned by the understanding that climate change is reshaping the Arctic faster than any other place on Earth. As an organization based in southern Canada and covering stories from across the country, Canadian Geographic recognizes the urgent need to listen to northerners on issues like food insecurity, shipping, pollution, biodiversity loss and cultural preservation and understand how these challenges stand to affect not just the Arctic, but the rest of the world.

The magazine has tended to approach these subjects through a scientific lens, but as the stories below demonstrate, art and artists play an equally important role in communicating complex issues, creating space for dialogue and reflection.

Over the past year, Canadian Geographic has worked with the Canada Council for the Arts to build and manage a digital platform for the 2022 Arctic Arts Summit, hosted by the Canada Council and the Government of Yukon in Whitehorse next week. The Arctic Arts Summit brings together Arctic countries and Indigenous Nations to strengthen and connect arts and culture across the circumpolar North. The digital platform hosts a wealth of articles and programming curated and commissioned by the Inuit Art Foundation, offering visitors a chance to immerse themselves in decades of northern history, arts, and culture.

Supporting the Summit’s digital program has created opportunities to listen and learn from artists and makers from across the circumpolar Arctic, and to continue to deepen connections with them.

Watch: Creating in the time of climate change

Kakiniit: The art of Inuit tattooing

Inuit tattoos, or kakiniit, were once banned. Now they are worn with pride.
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Our land: Mapping Nitassinan

Into the Arctic: The paintings of Cory Trépanier

The late Canadian painter and filmmaker Cory Trépanier explored the sublime and rapidly changing Canadian Arctic.

About the Arctic Arts Summit