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 in Greenland, ideas for the games were shared with young people from Tinderbox Collective youth groups as part of our weekly Saturday morning Games Club, and together we have created 8 digital and card games.
In March 2024 the creative exchange led to a group from UPI visiting us in Edinburgh, Scotland during Arctic Summit Science Week, where we have spent the week celebrating the games made, playing 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.
We also shared some of the games from across the project and the UPI musicians performed music during Arctic Summit Science Week – at the ASSW Arts Plenary and ASSW 2024 Science Day.
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.
Play the games made here:
Inuk (film screening 2025):
We are screening Inuk again at Out of the Blue in February 2025!
To find out more go here:
https://tinderboxcollective.org/inuk-as-part-of-local-cinema-2025/
Creative Resources:
As part of this project our team also developed a collection of short digital exercises. These exercises dive into different parts of how to make games, inspired by games!
To find out more go here:
About Uummannaq Polar Institute
Uummannaq Polar Institute is an umbrella for the outdoor activities
undertaken by the Uummannaq Children’s Home. Whilst the
Greenlandic culture is enshrined in all of the activities undertaken, it´s
purpose is wholly to promote educational programmes for young Inuit
children that reside in the Children´s Home.
It is situated in Uummannaq, North-West coast of Greenland. UPI
functions hence as a permanent workshop with inspiring alternative
means such as dog-sledge expeditions, study-travels, scientific work,
film-making, music, theatre and painting.
About Tinderbox Collective
From grass-roots youth work to award-winning arts and music
productions, we are a creative community of young people,
musicians, artists and youth workers. Tinderbox aims to ignite a
spark in people – one which fills them with confidence,
imagination and sense of possibility, and which enables people
to achieve things they never thought possible.
Our work uses music and the arts to bring people together and
strengthen communities, providing exciting opportunities that
support young people to build their confidence, skills, self-esteem,
and professional experience.
Supported by:
