Performance Art in Greenland

Action and live art in Greenland.

Artistic expression in Greenland spans thousands of years and is constantly evolving. Under Danish colonial rule, artists were heavily influenced by European art, but with the political activism of the 1960s, artists became progressively interested in expressing a Greenlandic national identity. When in 2012 the Danish Pavilion for the Venice Biennale featured a collaboration between Greenlandic and Danish architects called Possible Greenland, the exhibition was interpreted by many as Denmark’s gesture to show the viability and potential of Greenlandic artists for the global audience and the art market as well as to accept the region’s fragile identity and unique culture. The pavilion addressed the vital changes of the Arctic Region as Greenland had been undergoing a sharp shift towards political independence and business development in the midst of climate change.

Today, Greenlandic artists continue to have a strong voice in shaping the national identity of their homelands and bring their idiosyncratic artistic expressions to both local and international audiences. While educating the world on the indigenous cultural heritage of the region, as the Danish Commonwealth is splitting apart, these artists are also calling for more support of the arts as a means for Greenlandic people to find solutions to their own social and economical problems. (Artland Magazine)