Art in the isolation of Canada's north

"I think the thing about this pandemic and everything going online has made it more accessible for people like me who live in remote places or for people who don't live in remote places but as disabled but who can't leave their house still." -- Kimberly Edgar

Kimberly Edgar is an award-winning comic artist living on Tr'ondek Hwech'in land in so-called Dawson City, Yukon. Kimberly's work reflects on their experiences of both the medical system and the ennui that comes with being sick with no end, often comparing human bodies with the land-as-body. Kimberly also holds a Broken Pencil Zine Award for best comic in 2019, and is the recipient of grants from Cue, Canada Council, and from the On Yukon Time program, a special initiative by the Yukon government to support artists and organizations in this time of lost revenue and uncertainty. They also have pieces in two permanent art collections in Canada, and are currently curating a northern comics anthology and working on a graphic novel, thanks to funding from the Yukon Government.

Kimberly is originally from Ottawa, and they talk to Victoria Fenner about life and art in Canada's north. Surprisingly, the isolation and small community is working well for them and has created conditions that allow their art and economic life to be better than it was before the pandemic.

Just a note about the timing of this interview. It was done on November 11, which was only a bit over two weeks ago. But, in those two weeks, a few things that Kimberly talked about in the interview have changed. At the time of the original conversation, there were no cases of COVID-19 in Dawson City. In a report by CBC this week, there is now a case of COVID-19 in Dawson City.

In this interview, Kimberly shares how they are doing during COVID-19 and talks about the unique arts community that exists in the territory.

Image: "Feel Deeply" Copyright Kimberly Edgar. Used with permission.

Music theme for the series: reNovation by airtone. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.