“Art + Waste in Panniqtuuq” Launches at the Art Gallery of Peterborough

Peterborough, ON – A new exhibit at the Art Gallery of Peterborough will bring several Nunavut artists to the City of Peterborough in an effort to bring attention to the Arctic’s waste crisis.  

“Art + Waste in Panniqtuuq” opened July 26, 2025. The exhibit features the work of Inuk artists Madeleine Aasivak Qumuataq, Jupa Ishulutak, Kawtysie Kakee, Annie Kilabuk (1932-2005), David Kilabuk, Talia Metuq, Oleepika Nashalik, and Malaya Pitsiulak. These artists have partnered with settler artist, researcher and Peterborough resident Micky Renders, to highlight the growing issue around Arctic waste and its effect on local Indigenous communities.   

With the support of an artist travel grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, many of these artists will travel from Panniqtuuq, Nunavut, to Peterborough this fall, offering a range of exciting programs, workshops and opportunities through the Art Gallery of Peterborough. 

“We are grateful to these artists for their work and their willingness to travel and share their knowledge, experiences, and skill with us. Their stories and insights are essential in understanding the unique and immense impacts of these issues—to which we are all connected. I am eager to help welcome them this fall,” said Debby Keating, President of the Art Gallery of Peterborough Board of Directors. 

Artists are also planning to visit Curve Lake First Nation, visit with local artists in their studios, and tour the City’s waste management facilities, bringing stories from the Peterborough region home to Panniqtuuq with them. 

Artist-led events and workshops will be taking place from October 1 through October 5, culminating in a closing reception at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, 250 Crescent St., on October 5. Details, including times, locations and registration information, will be posted on the gallery’s website as events are scheduled: visit agp.on.ca. 

More information on the exhibit, the featured artists and the Panniqtuuq community can be found at agp.on.ca/exhibitions/art-and-waste-in-panniqtuuq/.