The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre is preparing for a “diverse” season of diverse arts and cultural performances across the NWT, says NACC artistic director Marie Coderre.
The newest NACC season features artists like Jeremy Dutcher, a Wolastoqey singer and composer whose debut release Wolastoquiyik Lintuwakonawa uses early 1900s wax cylinder field recordings from his community.
This year's roster includes two Grammy award winners, rising Polaris-prize nominees and a lineup that doesn't shy away from the eclectic and experimental.
The season will have a spoken-word and music festival with cross-generational stories told by Northerners in showings from Yellowknife to Hay River and up the Mackenzie to Inuvik, said Coderre.
NACC is presenting up-and coming artists like Jeremy Dutcher, a Wolastoqey singer and composer whose debut release Wolastoquiyik Lintuwakonawa uses early 1900s wax cylinder field recordings from his community.
“Many of the songs were lost because our musical tradition was suppressed by the Canadian government,” reads his Spotify biography.
“I'm doing this work as there's only about a hundred Wolastoqey speakers left. It's crucial that we're using our language because, if you lose the language, you're losing an entire distinct way of experiencing the world.”
NACC will also feature artists including Canadian country and folk artist Jimmy Rankin, Grammy-award winner Joanne Shenandoah, indie-folk singer Thelma Cheechoo and trace free jazz group Zenship.
One act features a 60-person choir, and another showcases audiovisual experience by Arts Numeriques.
The centre has new partnerships with Black Ice Sound to promote new classical style work.
The NWT is ripe for experimental art because of its diversity, she said.
“It's a very open-minded audience because we are from all over,” said Coderre.
“NACC is an educational place,” she said. “I want people to learn. (Art) is always subjective, so it's a question of taste. I feel free to try new things, and its a privilege to be able to experiment.”
While bringing out-of-town talent, NACC is simultaneously fostering local talent and featuring Northern artists with local showcases and youth initiatives.
It is establishing an outreach project in Hay River and Fort Simpson that incorporates storytelling, poetry, music and visuals with the oversight of two elders from each community to work with 15 youth.
After the workshops, the youth will perform for the community.
Seasons passes for the 2018-2019 NACC season are on sale starting tomorrow until Sept. 8 in Yellowknife.