Tanya Tagaq

From Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada), Tanya Tagaq is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer, and bestselling author. In its many forms, her art challenges static ideas of genre and culture and contends with themes of environmentalism, human rights, and post-colonial issues.

Tagaq stresses the importance of considering her work in the context of contemporary – not traditional – art. Although her music is decidedly modern and technically intricate, this statement is not just about sound but about deep-rooted assumptions about indigenous culture in general.

Praised by Rolling Stone as “one of the avant-garde’s most dynamic performers,” Tagaq is an original disruptor, a world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political, and environmental change.

“This fiercely charismatic Inuk singer’s throaty voice demands full attention, whether she’s whispering in her softest register or howling at the sky.” — NY Times