The special live streamed event will take place on the 3rd December in conjunction with the British Museum’s Arctic: culture and climate exhibition, focusing on the history of the Arctic and its Indigenous Peoples, through the lens of climate change and weather.
Theatre company Border Crossings will celebrate the cultural diversity of the Arctic and its importance to us all in Magnetic North, which ties in with the British Museum’s brand new exhibition and is a special event from the ORIGINS Festival.
During this online event, audiences will be invited to listen to stories from extraordinary Arctic artists, poets and musicians streamed directly from
the Museum’s Great Court. The whole event will be brought together with music by Indigenous Sámi band Vassvik who capture the resonance of the Arctic and place the other participants in a ritualised and trance-like soundscape. Led by Torgeir Vassvik, a keeper and renewer of the coastal music tradition and identity, the band use yoik and overtone singing with drumming,traditional instruments, and natural sounds.
This event is set to include voices such as Caitlyn Baikie (Top 5 Indigenous leaders under 30 to watch, CBC 2015) and Hivshu (whose name means The Voice of Arctic) to discuss climate change and the current situation in the Arctic. Alongside them, they will be joined by Tlingit storytelling from Ishmael Angaluuk Hope, performance poetry by Inuk author and spoken-word artist Taqralik Partridge, entrancing and powerful Greenlandic
mask dancing from Elisabeth Heilmann Blind and contemporary and political performance artist Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory.
The British Museum’s Arctic: culture and climate is the first major exhibition on the history of the Arctic and its Indigenous peoples, through the lens of climate change and weather. The Arctic has been home
to resilient communities for nearly 30,000 years, cultures that have lived with the opportunities and challenges of one of the most dramatic environments on the planet.
For more information and to book a ticket visit: https://www.britishmuseum.org/events/magnetic-north-voices-indigenous-arctic