Survivance: Arnait Video Productions is now on view at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in Buffalo, NY through December 23. Survivance: Arnait Video Productions celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Igloolik, Nunavut-based women’s media collective, Arnait Video Productions (AVP). The exhibition includes videos, installation, mixed media sculpture and fiber works spanning AVP’s career.

 Gerald Vizenor’s defines survivance as an active sense of presence, the continuance of native stories, not a mere reaction, or a survivable name. The exhibition explores how AVP have utilized communication technologies to reconnect to lost traditions & give voice to contemporary issues of urgency, while also celebrating the range & depth of AVP’s artistry.

AVP was formed in in 1991 by Madeline Ivalu, Susan Avingaq, Martha Makkar, Mathilda Hanniliaq & Marie-Hélène Cousineau. Their films & videos have focused on themes ranging from post-contact family life & the transmission of oral traditions to vital contemporary issues such as youth suicide, climate change & environmental destruction from mining. AVP has engaged a range of genres to depict Inuit life including historical reenactment, animation & mixed media artworks.

Survivance: Arnait Video Productions is curated by Laura McGough