INUVIK
A picture might be worth a thousand words, and Arctic dreams will be coming to Inuvik this fall.
The committee organizing the Arctic Images photo and video festival share a laugh May 2 as they began to look at logos for the event. Pictured are Peter Clarkson, left, Larry Frolick, Jackie Challis and Terry Halifax. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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A group of photo and visual arts buffs have banded together to organize Inuvik's first photography festival, Arctic Images. They have big dreams and big ambitions for the event, which is still, pardon the pun, developing.
The group is led by Peter Clarkson, photography enthusiast and regional director for the GNWT executive, with help from a group that includes professional photographer Terry Halifax, Inuvik director of tourism and economic development Jackie Challis, and public relations expert and semi-professional photographer Larry Frolick.
"Myself and Larry started talking about a project," Clarkson said. "We started talking about, there are lots of people in the community who take some great photos and great videos, and what if we took that and turned it into an Arctic Images Festival."
They took that concept and ran with it. The premise is a simple one: Only images from the Arctic will be displayed, although there is some debate on what constitutes the Arctic.
Clarkson said the committee has settled on using the Arctic Circle as the working definition, hopefully putting an end to that discussion.
"Some people say it's north of 60 (degrees of latitude), some people say it's north of Edmonton," he said with a chuckle. "We're saying if it's above the Arctic Circle, it's in the Arctic."
"It'll be stills, short videos – whatever people have. We're doing Instagram too," Clarkson said. "The whole focus is on images that people take of and in the Arctic. Basically it's a celebration of Arctic images."
The details of the festival are still being worked out, Clarkson said. That includes the categories and details of the competition. In general, there will be divisions for professional photographers and amateurs, with further categories beyond those levels.
It will be a juried show. Members of the organizing committee will likely be the judges, although that is still being decided.
During a meeting April 25, Frolick said he wanted to see the festival grow to be a world-class event showcasing the best of the Arctic.
The committee has begun looking for sponsors. Members estimate the budget needed to put on the event they envision is in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. Challis is currently working on a logo for the festival.
"We're still in the process of figuring out exactly what it's going to be," Clarkson said. "We're almost there."
