A fire has destroyed the sand in Igloolik, Nunavut, along with an important community center that houses a local circus and performing arts space.
The fire exploded around 2:30 am on Wednesday, said George Qaunaq, administrative director of the community. He engaged the Kipsigak Arena, which is also the Black Box Box home in Artcirq, where he directs his circus and community programming.
The building cannot be saved and should be demolished, said Qaunaq.
“The whole building will have fallen,” he said.
He said that the fire began at some point at night, but the cause is still unknown.
The fire was still burning later on Wednesday morning and smoke was spreading in the community, closing schools and the health center.
“We are still trying to contain it,” Qaunaq said, just before noon.
A space ‘full of love’ so that young people meet, lost
Guillaume Saladin is the co -founder of Artcirq, a group of performing arts formed in Igloolik in 1998. Its members have traveled the world and created a safe space in the community so that young people meet.
Saladin said he received a call at 3 in the morning of people who work in Artcirq saying that his building was in flames.
“We have a wall with all the flags, all the countries we travel over the years,” said Saladin. “And I was imagining this wall of flags burning. And I was just crying.”
“Everyone is very sad.”
Released in 1998 in Igloolik as a youth program with a social mission, Artcirq has become a world -class performing arts collective.
Saladin said he is still incredulous that everything is lost.
“They are the last 20 years, and the energy they have put to make a safe space for young people to express themselves,” he said.
Seven people from Igloolik work at full -time Black Box, said Saladin.
“It was his job to keep that place safe and open every day,” he said.
The black box held young people for young people every day, along with its circus and Inuit games. It was also a space for musicians to gather, complete with lighting and a sound system.
Despite the devastation, Saladin said that he and his colleagues in Artcirq will seek to rebuild.
“Artcirq is not a place, it’s people. So that’s the good news. Artcirq is still there,” he said. “Once this fire is gone, we have to take the time to rebuild and do better than it was before.”
Saladin said he also expects others to intensify to help.
“Share the pain and then find solutions. I really hope that Hamlet’s advice, the federal government, that many people, meet,” he said.
“Many people have been part of this. It’s really a unique space, it’s full of love.”
Qaunaq said that the loss of the black box, along with the sand, will feel in all Igloolik and beyond.
“It’s devastating for the community,” Qaunaq said.
