by Embassy of Imagination

4:00pm: gathering
4:30: procession start

Location: Starting at The Bentway, 250 Fort York Boulevard, and following the waterfront to 259 Lakeshore Boulevard East

Co-commissioned and co-presented in partnership with The Toronto Biennial of Art, produced by PA System

Artists: Parr Josephee, Cie Taqiasuk, Saaki Nuna, David Pudlat, Janine Manning, Kunu Pudlat, Kevin Allooloo, Salomonie Ashoona, Taqialu Pudlat, Oasis Skateboard Factory Fall 2019 Cohort, Ooloosie Ashevak, and PA System (Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson)

Presented in conjunction with Embassy of Imagination + PA System’s installation at 259 Lakeshore Boulevard East, Sinaaqpagiaqtuut/The Long-Cut is a procession that began in Kinngait (Cape Dorset, Nunavut) and continues in Toronto. The procession is performed and features works by Kinngait youth from Peter Pitseolak High School made in collaboration with the Oasis Skateboard Factory School in Toronto that are inspired by Kinngait-Toronto connections and look to the ways these distant places are tethered through waterways, art markets, artistic collaborations, and the night sky.

In Kinngait, the procession involved community members celebrating the beginning of the new Lands and Community Leadership program, an EOI and the Cape Dorset Education Authority initiative, made possible by EOI’s collaborative youth-engaged artwork Future Snowmachines in Kinngait. In Toronto the procession performance continues as a reflective walk along the waterfront, nuanced by shared memories held by the performers and the creation of new memories in real time, at points relating to places along the route, e.g. the EOI 2017 mural in Coronation Park, “Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq”.

Members of the public are invited to witness the performance and are welcome to respectfully follow behind the procession, while reflecting on their own relationship to place.

EOI wishes to thank: Studio PM, The Japanese Paper Place, Flora Shum, Splash Graphics, Ontario Science Centre, Saizula Pootoogook, Taylor LaMarche, Louisa Jaw, Mary Pitsiulak, Mark Etidloie, Ettula Adla,Temela Pitsiulak, Taukie Ashevak, Paul Baron, Annie Noolook, Claude Constantineau, Susan Rowsell, Steve Ferrara/ Well and Good, SAW Nordic Lab, Parkdale Sewing Repair Hub and Creative Reuse Toronto

Project Credits

Sinaaqpagiaqtuut/The Long-Cut is a project by Embassy of Imagination, produced by PA System. It is co-commissioned and co-presented by The Bentway and the Toronto Biennial of Art as part of the latter’s inaugural event, running from September 21 – December 1, 2019.

Sinaaqpagiaqtuut/ The Long-Cut Contributors: Parr Josephee, Cie Taqiasuk, Saaki Nuna, David Pudlat, Janine Manning, Kunu Pudlat, Kevin Allooloo, Salomonie Ashoona, Taqialu Pudlat, Oasis Skateboard Factory Fall 2019 Cohort, Ooloosie Ashevak, and PA System (Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson)

Sinaaqpagiaqtuut/The Long-Cut  is made possible by the generous support of the RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Program, Canadian North Airlines, and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation as well as the Canada Council for the Arts, Cape Dorset District Education Authority, Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Canada House, British Museum, Ontario Arts Council, The Government of Nunavut, TakingITGlobal, and XYZ STORAGE. Additional support is provided by the City of Toronto, Billy Bishop Airport, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky, Richard M. Ivey, Rosamond Ivey, and Frances & Tim Price.

About the Toronto Biennial of Art
Launching September 21, 2019, the Toronto Biennial of Art is a new international contemporary visual arts event as culturally connected and diverse as the city itself. For 72 days, Toronto and surrounding areas will be transformed by free exhibitions, talks, and performances that reflect our local context while engaging with the most pressing issues of our time. The inaugural Biennial will present over 100 works by Canadian, Indigenous, and International artists installed at more than 10 sites on or near Toronto’s waterfront.

About Embassy of Imagination and PA System
Embassy of Imagination (EOI) is an ongoing collaboration between PA System (Patrick Thompson and Alexa Hatanaka) and youth in the arctic community of Kinngait (Cape Dorset, Nunavut). EOI’s emergent process is a sustained mentorship that connects to local knowledge, provides technical and innovative art workshops, and encourages community collaboration and engagement in the arts. EOI works across institutions and agencies to empower youth leaders. Activities have led to large-scale public murals, video and installations. EOI challenges expectations of youth-engaged work, strengthening Kinngait youth voices within their community and in urban city centres.