Elisapie

Elisapie’s unconditional attachment to her territory and her language, Inuktitut, is at the core of her creative journey. Born and raised in the remote Nunavik village of Salluit, Elisapie — as she is known — is an emblematic Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter. Her many musical accomplishments include her Juno Award in 2005 with her band Taima and numerous Félix Awards. Her 2018 album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Her fourth solo album, Inuktitut, due out this fall, translates classic rock and pop songs from the 1960s to 1990s into her language.

Since then, the Inuk artist has performed with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal at the invitation of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, at the SummerStage Festival in New York City’s Central Park and in the NPR office in Washington, D.C., for her own Tiny Desk Session, as well as in several venues and festivals locally and internationally. 

Aside from her musical career, Elisapie has acted in TV series and experimental movies. A devoted activist, she created and produced the first Canada-wide broadcast TV show to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, Le grand solstice (2021, 2022, 2023). She also directed the National Film Board documentary, If the weather permits (2003) and, with her company Sanajik Films, she produces documentaries that tell stories through Indigenous and Inuit eyes, including Elisapie, face à la musique in 2021.

Among her many accolades, Elisapie was awarded an Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec in 2021.