Uummannaq Polar Institute Collaboration and Visit
UPI Visit 2024
Over the past 6 months we have been collaborating with our friends from the Uummannaq Polar Institute and Uummannaq Children’s Home in Greenland, sharing stories, artwork, and music to create a series of games (digital and physical) inspired by ice and its community, cultural and environmental significance.
Beginning with video calls with lead artist Melanie Frances and the children at the home, we shared games, music, songs and stories about our lives in Scotland & Greenland. Ideas for the games were then gradually developed and shared between the young people from UPI in Greenland and Tinderbox Collective youth groups in Scotland as part of our weekly Saturday morning Games Club. Together over the project we have created 8 digital and card games, which includes a playable version of a comic that UPI young people had already created, called AARNUAQ: the Amulet, originally made in collaboration with Kim Wendt & Søren Alfred Olsen.
In March 2024 the creative exchange led to a group from UPI visiting us in Edinburgh, Scotland during Arctic Summit Science Week, where we spent the week celebrating the games made, playing lots of music together (including impromptu busking with a bagpiper on the Royal Mile), hosted a film screening of INUK (a feature length film created by the group with filmmaker Mike Magidson, based on the true facts and philosophy of the Uummannaq Children’s Home), and spent time together sharing stories and ideas.
Overall it was a jampacked and inspiring week that also included an astonishing number of performances from UPI at:
- Tinderbox Games Club end of term showcase and two Arctic Science Summit Week events, at the Arts Plenary and Science Day
- A Tinderbox orchestra rehearsal, and the Tinderbox Tuesday Hub end of term concert
- The INUK film screening at Leith Depot
- Seamab school
- Newhaven choir
- Many other informal music sessions and hang outs!
Through the incredible work of UPI, led by Ann Andreasen, we’ve been invited to understand and experience indigenous musical practices from Greenland, and through discussions and presentations learn more about indigenous Greenlandic approaches to food, craft, travel and life. All of UPI’s work is about mixing and embracing modern approaches with older Greenlandic approaches and values, and we’ve been fortunate enough to see and experience this across our collaboration. We spent a wonderful week together sharing practice, history and stories.
With huge thanks to Scottish Government Arctic Connections for funding and supporting the project, Arctic Summit Science Week, artist Mary Walters for connecting us with the group, and to the UPI team.
With huge thanks to Scottish Government Arctic Connections for funding and supporting the project, Arctic Summit Science Week, artist Mary Walters for connecting us with the group, and to the UPI team.