Image
Image Caption
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com
Singer/songwriter Susan Aglukark and throat singing duo PIQSIQ, two generations of Inuit artists, will take the stage at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver as part of the Made in Canada Series.
The concert will be held April 12 at 7:30 p.m. on the Chan Shun Concert Hall stage and will feature two programs spotlighting pioneering Inuit artists who have played roles in elevating Inuit identity on the global stage.
According to Chan Centre director T. Patrick Carrabré, the artists have recently impressed Vancouver crowds independently, yet the upcoming show will provide fans the experience of seeing both performances in one night.
Aglukark, a Canadian icon, will take the audience through a musical journey of her acclaimed career so far.
“We’re looking forward to just sharing a bit of the timeline through the albums, so it’s a little bit of everything released to date,” said Aglukark, who mixes Inuit folk, country and pop in her music. “Sharing a little bit of the journey from small town north Nunavut to the last 30 years of that album (This Child).”
April marks the 30th anniversary of the release of This Child, Aglukark’s debut album, which landed her a JUNO, making her the first Inuk artist to win that award. She has now recorded 10 albums, earning three additional JUNOs.
Aglukark has also written two children’s books, earned a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement and is an officer of the Order of Canada. In 2025 she released her memoir Kihiani.
Additionally, she founded the Arctic Rose Project, which provides Inuit and Northern Indigenous youth a safe after-school space, and co-founded the Aboriginal Literacy Project, which works to improve literacy and educational opportunities for Indigenous children and youth in Canada.
“You know, the music business itself 30, 35 years ago was this incredible machine that was quite a beast… It's a machine that once it starts to roll, it rolls like crazy and you're just hanging on for dear life,” said Aglukark about her three decades in the business.
“At that time, you didn't really get a breather. You don't get to sit back and just take it all in, especially as an Inuk or Indigenous artist at that time. You’re just fighting to hold on to the space that you’ve just acquired.”
Since that time, there have been many changes in how artists share their music, she said. Technology and streaming apps provide artists with a space to reach wider audiences. This has allowed more Indigenous artists to be heard throughout the world, creating collaborations between people who may have never heard about each other in the past.
“There are so many incredibly talented Indigenous artists now that you know. There is the company of peers that you can sit back and enjoy, and you don’t feel like it’s a machine any longer, but you have allies from your own that are in that same space and it’s very comforting to know that,” Aglukark said.
Being in the company of people whose interests align is exactly what Aglukark is looking forward to with the Made in Canada performance at the Chan Centre.
“PIQSIQ and I are both from the Inuit community, but to hear them and the incredible courage with which they move forward with their sounds and creating sounds and exploring, I think that’s so important now to have a duo, any duo, any group, anywhere representing any Indigenous group with young people watching possibilities,” said Aglukark. “It’s just very exciting to share the stage with them and definitely to be able to sit back and watch them perform.”
PIQSIQ is comprised of sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik. They are 2026 JUNO nominees for their album Legends. The word piqsiq means a windstorm, which in Inuktitut conjures the image of snow falling back up towards the sky.
“The thing that we all love about what they do is that their music is entirely improvised,” said Jarrett Martineau, head curator at the Chan Centre. “They use live loops. Every concert you see from them, you will never see the same concert twice, which is amazing.”
Martineau said the upcoming concert will be an interesting opportunity for the audience to take in the “improvised kind of music (of PIQSIQ), and Susan’s songs, which are much more clearly designed.”
“It’ll be kind of a real mix in terms of the genre and style of music,” he added.
Since 1997, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts has earned international acclaim for its striking architecture, world-class acoustics, and exceptional programming, ranking it among North America’s premier performing arts venues.
For tickets and further information, visit: chancentre.com