It seems things are finally back in full spring, or fall, after a long two years with limited opportunities for arts and culture events and activities. The Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC), based in Dawson City, has a packed fall, with programming ranging from artists in residence, to film screenings, to youth arts opportunities and more, and plans well into next year are already laid out.
One main attraction is the return of the ODD Gallery, which opens October 22 with a free opening reception and artist talk featuring Z’otz* Collective, a group made up of three visual artists of Latin American heritage who are living in Toronto.
As per KIAC’s website, The ODD Gallery is a contemporary exhibition space housed in Dënäkär Zho/KIAC, on the traditional and contemporary territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in peoples. The ODD Gallery’s year-round programming features solo and group exhibitions with art by regional, national and international visual artists, as well as the annual thematic project, “The Natural & The Manufactured.”
Dan Sokolowski, who looks after the film festival and artist residencies for KIAC, said he’s happy to finally be working on programming to its full potential, without having to make things smaller due to pandemic restrictions anymore. He is working now on next year’s film festival, and looking back on the previous one, this past April, he said things are much more back to normal now.
“It was semi-normal in terms of our programming and workshops we could do, but we had to cap our capacity,” he recalled. “That was the same with any concerts we did.”
Now that Covid protocols are not stifling KIAC’s programming anymore, Solowski has found himself catching up on applications for the Macaulay House Studio Residency and making arrangements to bring up artists who had applied before the pandemic and weren’t able to complete their residencies.
“We’re finishing now selecting artists for 2023 and 2024,” Solowski said. “Some artists left over from Covid are coming in now.”
Resident artists, this fall and winter, include Darcy Tara McDiarmid, a Han and Northern Tutchone artist who is a professional carver, painter and illustrator; as well as Chantal Rousseau, a queer settler artist whose practice is informed by a bioregional focus, using both embodied experience and research to learn about specific ecosystems.
Later in the fall, KIAC will be turning some of its attention to holiday activities, including the Holiday Craft Fair, which was able to run in a reduced format during Covid but will now be back to normal. KIAC will also be presenting weekend holiday arts workshops.
“We kind of forgot about how busy it was during Covid because we were doing things differently and reducing things dramatically,” said Solowski. “The time goes faster when we’re busy, and we are a community space, so it’s nice to see the community coming back and having things for everyone to do.”
To see KIAC’s full list of programming and scheduling, as well as to purchase tickets, where applicable, visit https://kiac.ca.
“All our programs are full steam ahead,” said Solowski.
