03/09/2019 | Return to Latest News

On June 21st, National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, C-CORE celebrated our role in the Antenna as Canvas project in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The project visually celebrates the vibrant cultures of the peoples of the Beaufort Delta area.

All five satellite receivers (owned and operated by NRCan, German Space Agency (DLR), the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), the French Space Agency (CNES) and C-CORE) located at NRCan’s Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) have been decorated with artwork created by local Indigenous artists. This remarkable international collaboration honours and promotes learning about Inuvik peoples’ cultures, languages and contributions to Canada’s history at home and abroad.

Throughout 2017 and 2018, C-CORE’s LOOKNorth Centre worked with NRCan and the community of Inuvik to include the radome of our groundstation as a canvas for local artwork. The East Three Secondary School Art Club are the creative artists behind C-CORE’s canvas. The Club was selected by LOOKNorth, in consultation with NRCan and project partners: the Gwich’in Tribal Council, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Inuvik Métis Council and the Town of Inuvik.

Six students from the East Three Secondary School Art Travel Club created a truly inspiring design for the art that covers the radome (a dome enclosing and protecting the antenna and other equipment, made from material that allows electromagnetic signals and radio waves to pass through) of the C-CORE Groundstation in Inuvik.

The club comprises students in grades 11 and 12 that have a personal interest in art and culture. They fundraise for up to two years in order to be able to travel and experience a unique opportunity that allows them to engage with and participate in the creation of art, as well as provides an educational opportunity to experience and view art from around the world.

The design features a  beautifully painted map of the Northwest Territories, with hand-drawn icons representing art, crafts, technology and activity associated with particular places.  The students researched the places they wanted to locate on the map and painted an icon to best represent what they learned about their characteristics. Those viewing the map can then locate a matching icon on the other side of the radome, along with the name of the place. The students themselves created a learning tool for visitors to the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) site!

Learn more about the C-CORE Arctic groundstation here and radome art design here.