Watch Now: Signs of Life, a Short Film from Kugluktuk

In the winter of 2024, a team of musicians and recording engineers travelled to Kugluktuk, Nunavut, to spend a week writing songs and making music with students at Kugluktuk High School. Artscan Circle was proud to be part of it, shipping 150 kg of reconditioned guitars, keyboards and other instruments north so the youth had gear to play, learn on and keep making music long after the workshops ended.

The collaboration didn’t stop there. In January 2026, the team returned to Kugluktuk for a second week of Artscan Circle workshops and a community concert.

The songs

At the heart of the project is Land of a Thousand Drums (Susie’s Song), written by James Raffan and Barney Bentall with Susie Evyagotailak and recorded right in Kugluktuk. It tells the story of an emotional find: an ancient Inuit artifact discovered on the Arctic coast.

The students wrote their own song too. Life Behind (Snowmobile) Bars was created by youth songwriters Cody Bolt, Rye Pedersen, Nate Kamingoak, Masen Panioyak and Amanda Milukshuk, together with facilitator Ken Taptuna. (Rye, Cody and Ken also did double duty as snowmobile stunt drivers for the film!)

The film

Inuuhiqaqtut Naunaitkutait / Signs of Life, a short documentary by Trevor J. Wallace and James Raffan, captures this cultural collaboration and the creativity of these young Inuit musicians. Fittingly, it premiered in Kugluktuk in January 2026, alongside the community concert. The film was released digitally on September 1, 2026.

Thank you

Artscan Circle is honoured to have been part of this partnership alongside Adventure Canada, the BHP Heritage Fund, The Hawthorne Foundation, Kugluktuk High School and the Hamlet of Kugluktuk. A special shout-out to the artists who brought it all to life: James Raffan, Barney Bentall, Dustin Bentall, Lynn Moorman, Susie Evyagotailak, Joe Allen Evyagotailak and Ken Taptuna, and to filmmaker Trevor J. Wallace. Most of all, thank you to the young musicians of Kugluktuk. Projects like this happen when many hands come together, and we’re grateful to have been one of them.

Watch more clips, hear the music and learn more at signsoflife.ju.mp

Photos Credit: Jame Raffan