Sound
Tanya Tagaq
Born 1975-05-05 · Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada
“Tagaq doesn’t so much sing as plug herself into the Earth.” – Pitchfork From Nunavut, Tanya Tagaq is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and author. A member of the Order of Canada, a Polaris Music Prize and JUNO Award winner and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is an original disruptor, a world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political and environmental change. In its many forms, Tagaq’s art challenges static ideas of genre and culture, and contends with themes of Indigenous Rights, colonialism, environmentalism, racism and violence against women and girls, in particular MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls). Tagaq’s bestselling, award-winning debut novel, Split Tooth, has been translated into German and French. A full-length feature documentary on Tanya’s life, career and art is currently in production. Split Tooth on stage, a collaboration with Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers, is scheduled to debut in Dusseldorf and BAM in 2021. Tagaq has collaborated and recorded with Saul Williams, Kronos Quartet, Bjork, A Tribe Called Red, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Fucked Up and more. She has composed pieces for the Kronos Quartet and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and created a sound installation for the National Maritime Museum in London. Tagaq has performed at many prestigious international festivals, including Dark Mofo, Bonnaroo, Big Ears, the Helsinki Festival, Aarhus and many more, and venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center. From CBS’s 60 Minutes to NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Guardian and more, Tagaq’s music and writing has been covered by major publications in the USA, UK, Europe and beyond.
Acting credits
6.0Ever Deadly weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph—all through the expressions of Tanya Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time.
Ever Deadly
2022
3.0A thought-provoking meditation on the seal-hunt and what it means to the traditional way of life for the Inuit.
Tungijuq
2009
NRDirector Zacharias Kunuk explores Sirmilik National Park, near the Nunavut community of Pond Inlet, through the voice of an Inuit elder. Winner "Best Short Documentary" 2012 Genie Awards.
Sirmilik
2011
NRFrom Rome to Dakar follows Nana, a Senegalese woman whose body and language are reshaped through dance memories during her journey from Rome to Dakar. Inspired by Pina Bausch, featuring the voice of Tanya Tagaq, and drawing on the story of Mame Coumba Bang, the film investigates how the human body adapts to overpopulation, immobility, collisions, and extreme heat. Through speculative images, language and sound, it explores the intersection between physical transformation, communication and environmental change in a world marked by rising temperatures.
From Rome to Dakar
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NRA tribute and call to action for linguistic diversity. A 15-minute motion poem (poem on film), each line comes from a different treasure or minority language. 48 speakers each speak in their mother tongues, as line by line, language by language, the poem is created.
Khonsay: Poem of Many Tongues
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Behind the camera
6.0Ever Deadly weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph—all through the expressions of Tanya Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time.
Ever Deadly
2022
6.0Ever Deadly weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph—all through the expressions of Tanya Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time.
Ever Deadly
2022