KLONDIKE INSTITUTE OF ART & CULTURE

Classic Cinema Night: Ariel
2026-02-21 19:00 - 21:30 (America/Whitehorse) | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Ariel (1987)
Dir. Aki Kaurismäki
Finland | 1987 | 1h 12m
Free entry, Cash Concessions, doors at 6:30.
This February 21st, KIAC Classic Films presents Aki Kaurismäki’s Ariel on the big screen at Dënäkär Zho/KIAC Ballroom. With over a dozen films to his name, Kaurismäki claimed this to be his best work. His sardonic and deadpan treatment of working-class folks doing working-class things, and going to working-class places never patronizes; instead, it rolls along like a 1962 Cadillac convertible with the top down. Keep your eyes on the road because this hilarious comedy never announces a joke!
It’s Lapland, Finland in the 80s and times are tough at the coal mine. Taisto’s Dad has had enough and leaves him with a classic car and some important advice: get out of this dead end town, now. What follows is Taisto’s matter of fact meander through the trials and tribulations of getting by in gritty Helsinki. Taisto finds tragedy, love, friendship, betrayal. The world is cold and uncaring, but don’t worry! Taisto doesn’t!

Works in Progress - Open Studio at Macaulay House
2026-02-26 18:30 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Thursday, February 26th – 6:30pm to 9:30pm Works in Progress – Open Studio at Macaulay House

View works by February Artists in Residence C. Hamilton and Lisa G, and get a glimpse of their current project. Doors open at 6:30, with an informal artist talk around 7pm. Free event, all welcome, refreshments served! This event is part of KIAC’s Artist in Residence Program. Learn more about our February Artists in Residence here.

Classic Cinema Night: I Know Where I'm Going - March 2nd
2026-03-02 18:30 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
I know where I’m going (1945)
Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
England | 1945 | 1h 32m
Free entry, Cash Concessions, doors at 6:30.
This March 2nd, join KIAC Classic Films for a screening of I Know Where I’m Going! on the big screen at Dënäkär Zho/KIAC Ballroom. This late entry to the canon of Scottish Romanticism is sure to delight both Hallmark movie acolytes and critics alike. The legendary writer/director/producer duo, Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell also known as “the Archers” serve up their distinctive style.
Take a trip to the stormy Scottish Hebrides to meet your fiance – the wealthiest man in Britain! Miss your ferry and get stranded with a random dashing falconer. Rail against the rain. The fog. The wind. The gales. Search for a golden eagle. Check out a ceilidh. Lie to yourself. Lie to the falconer. Ignore everything the locals tell you. Endanger people’s lives in an enormous whirlpool. Then, live happily ever after? Gorgeous, moody cinematography and a stubborn (perhaps unlikeable) heroine make this one of Powell and Pressburger’s best-loved films.

Amour Courtois: Medieval Meets Jazz at Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom
2026-03-04 19:00 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Amour Courtois: Medieval Meets Jazz
Matthew Baker, barytone; Efrén López, multi-instrumentalist; Baptiste Bailly, piano & arrangements
Co-presented with Whitehorse Concerts
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Wed, March 4
doors at 7, Pre-show chat at 7:30, concert to follow
Pay-what-you-want – kiacyukon.square.site
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Runtime: Approximately 100 min
Amour Courtois is a bold and evocative musical project led by French jazz pianist Baptiste Bailly, reimagining 14th-century French songs through the lens of contemporary improvisation. Inspired by the enduring emotional resonance of medieval melodies, Bailly collaborates with Matthew Baker on the baryton and Efren López on the hurdy-gurdy and ouds, crafting an anachronistic yet striking soundscape. Their repertoire – featuring works by Machaut, Binchois, and Lescurel – bridges centuries and highlights the timelessness of human expression.
Amour Courtois treats medieval songs not as static artifacts but as living works. While the original melodies are respected as closely as possible, with the aim of preserving their essence, the musicians change the settings, time signatures, chords, context, and costumes. Improvised or newly written passages are integrated into the pieces, like moments of intimate expression nourished by the eclecticism of their personalities and influences, revealing a touching and spontaneous musical craftsmanship, boundless and timeless.
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Thanks to our funders – Government of Canada, Yukon Government, Canada Council for the Arts
and special thanks to Northern Vision Development / the Downtown Hotel

Lumbar 5, Thoracic 12 - Live Theatre at Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom
2026-03-14 19:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Doors open – 7:30 / Performance – 8:00
Co-Presented by Pivot Theatre
Tickets: kiacyukon.square.site
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Through recorded interviews, shadow puppetry, and campfire storytelling, Lumbar 5, Thoracic 12 tells a Northern father-daughter story about intergenerational divides and a deep need to connect.
Santana Berryman returns to Whitehorse with her show about taking her father on a camping trip. Together, they brave a few nights in the bush in winter, facing cold temperatures, 20 hours of darkness, and a generation of silence between them.
Writer and performer: Santana Berryman
Puppets: Benjamin Pilger
Director: Ariel Martz-Oberlander Sound Designer: CJ McGillivray

Art Club at RSS
2026-03-19 15:30 - 17:00 | robert service school
KIAC will be hosting an Art Club at RSS every thursday from 3:30 – 5pm for the rest of the school year for grades 5-12!
We will be making all kinds of things including sets and props for the school play!
See you on thursday!

Classic Cinema Night: The Gleaners and I - March 19th
2026-03-19 18:30 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
The Gleaners and I (2000)
Dir. Agnes Varda
France | 2000 | 1h 22m
Free entry, Cash Concessions, doors at 6:30.
This March 19th, join KIAC Classic Films for a screening of The Gleaners and I on the big screen at Dënäkär Zho/KIAC Ballroom. In this ode to counter-culture, the legendary French director, Agnes Varda discovers digital cameras and turns them on the fringes of society and those who choose alternatives to mainstream life – including herself. Her colourful cast of ‘gleaners’ – people who gather leftover crops after a harvest – exist on the edge of the fields and cities. They collect everything from food to urban waste for necessity, for art, and for resistance. Varda travels across France collecting/gleaning all of her interactions with the people she meets and weaving them into unexpected and touching narratives.
The Gleaners and I was an international hit, resonating with and inspiring people from all parts of society and bringing Varda back into the deserved spotlight. In this documentary of scavengers, foragers, dumpster-divers, thrifters, anti-consumerists, and artists, Varda demonstrates all of the curiosity, empathy, and joy her work is known for. Ce qui est dechet pour l’un est tresor pour l’autre.

Thaw di Gras Coffee House & Open Mic Night
2026-03-21 19:00 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Join us for a family-friendly, all-ages, alcohol-free Coffee House & Open Mic Night. Everyone is welcome to perform or simply enjoy. All funds raised will be donated to the Willow Foundation.

Elisapie at Dënäkär Zho / Klondike Institute of Art & Culture
2026-03-22 19:30 - 22:00 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Sun, March 22 at Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom (full band show)
Co-presented with the Dawson City Music Festival and Yukon Arts Centre
Doors open – 7:30 / Music – 8:00
Tickets on sale here
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Elisapie’s unconditional attachment to her territory and her language, Inuktitut, remains at the core of her creative journey. Born and raised in Salluit, a small village in Nunavik which is only accessible by plane, Elisapie is an emblematic Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter. Since winning her first Juno Award in 2005 with her band Taima, Elisapie’s body of work has been praised many times.
On September 15th 2023, Elisapie unveiled Inuktitut, her fourth solo record. On this album, the Inuk artist covers ten classic rock and pop songs ranging from the 1960’s to the 90’s translated into Inuktitut, her mother tongue. The result is an emotional, autobiographical soundtrack where each song is associated with a loved one or an intimate story. Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Inuktitut is the artist’s second album to land a shortlist nomination for the Polaris Music Prize. Its success also earned Elisapie a Juno Award in the Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year category, as well as five awards at the 2024 ADISQ Gala, and allowed her to play over 70 concerts in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. She also just got nominated for this year’s upcoming Juno Awards for Best Album of the year, as well as for Best Adult Alternative Album of the year.
Aside from her musical career, Elisapie is known for creating and producing documentaries and the first Canada-wide broadcast TV show to celebrate the National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, called Le Grand Solstice. She was also honored with a Canada Post stamp. Always surrounded by the best musicians from the Montreal indie and folk scenes, Elisapie makes her culture resonate with finesse by mixing modernity and tradition.
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Funded by Canada Council for the Arts, Government of Canada, and Yukon Government

27th Dawson City International Short Film Festival
2026-04-02 15:00 - 2026-04-05 21:00 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
April 2nd – 5th 2026
Its Film Fest time!
The 27th Dawson City Film Fest is coming up (April 2nd-5th). It’s time to start planning your weekend!
The weekend is full of films, workshops, installations, projections, and our famous Sunday afternoon Pierogi Street Feast. Live music and food on Princess street in front of KIAC.

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Workshops!
NO COST, JUST REGISTER
Optical Sound Sensation with Richard Reeves.
Registration for this workshop is now full - sign up to be on the waitlist.
Waitlist Signup: https://forms.gle/4iHAv9RrQu79WQma8

Investigating interplay between sound and picture. An experimental animation experience produced by drawing both sound and picture onto 35mm film.
A film without words…
No camera or musical instrument.
Sound is produced from handmade graphical patters spliced onto 35mm film optical sound area, then composed frame by frame thereby ‘animating’ the sounds. Making handmade optical sound shapes directly onto 35mm film compliments the hand drawn images directly onto film.
3 Sessions
Wednesday April 1st 6pm – 9pm
Drop-In: Thursday April 2nd 11am – 4pm
Friday April 3rd 10am – 3:30pm
KIAC Classroom
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Screenwriting for beginners with guest filmmaker Justine McCloskey.
REGISTRATION NOW FULL!
Screenwriting can be intimidating!
The format alone can scare off even the bravest of writers, never mind dealing with efficient scene descriptions, snappy dialogue, and knowing what to do with it once the thing is written. Once you get used to the technical aspect, screenwriting is a tool that can be used to tell incredible stories in the most beloved and accessible medium.
Want to give it a try?
The course is designed for teens and adults. It will be a 2 hour workshop with some room for exercises and group involvement.
Sunday, April 5th 11am to 1pm @ SOVA Lecture Hall (upstairs)
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Grant writing for Media Arts and Filmmakers with guest filmmakers Richard Reeves and Justine McCloskey.
REGISTRATION NOW FULL
Learn about the different levels of funding available to you and understand how to effectively approach a grant application for your project.
This workshop will break down key elements of a grant application; investigate the different requirements needed for each granting body; address how to distil your story, budget, and plan into an actionable and equitable project; get you set to reach out to grant officers; understand what wider public funding may be available to you; and familiarize you with some of the quirks you may experience in the multitude of granting portals in operation.
Bring your idea and we can look at it together! This workshop is a lecture that will include a roundtable where participants can discuss their grant ideas and workshop them together.
Tuesday March 31st 6pm – 8pm @ KIAC Ballroom
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Meet our Guest Filmmakers

Richard Reeves
Richard is a kinetic film scratcher, visual music maker, animated traveller of time and space, light sensitive, spinner of zoetrope’s, looper of loops and collector of projection bulbs for total enlightenment.
He is best known for creating animations by drawing both sound and picture directly onto film and has produced award winning films that have screened around the world.
Richard is an honorary member of the Quickdraw Animation Society and previously worked at QAS as Film Production Coordinator. He mentored workshops at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School for 10 years and taught animation courses across Canada, Europe and South America. Richard has collaborated with artists often involving dancing human projection screens, interactive animation installations, online animation jams and large outdoor projections. He has attended Artist in Residence programs at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá Colombia and Iris Film Collective in Vancouver BC.
Richard continues to explore animation as a visual music time and space art form.
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Justine McCloskey

Justine McCloskey graduated with honours from Toronto Metropolitan University’s BFA Film Studies program in 2013, specializing in directing and production design. In 2012, she was awarded the prestigious Norman Jewison Award for Innovation in Filmmaking and in 2013 was nominated for the Dean’s Essay Award for her essay “Grete Suffraunce: Dysentery and The Crusades.” Since then, her writing and photography has been published internationally.
She attended the University of Toronto and received her MA in Art History while TA-ing media and photography courses with both UofT and OCADu. She recently worked as a Creative at HumanContact Inc. where she produced and directed commercials, radio spots, and internal content for clients across Canada.
Her OAC-funded still life food photo series will be exhibited this spring, and will be completing her LIFT-funded short film this summer.
You can typically find her amidst piles of cookbooks, camera in hand! Feel free to say hi!
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Tickets
General Public: $50
KIAC Member: $40
Senior/Youth/Student: $35
Tickets available at KIAC and online, March 19th.
Additional tickets sold at at the door of festival.
Individual screening tickets available at the door (cash or credit).
Please arrive early.
Check out all the action on our website!

Thanks to all our funders and supporters!
Yukon Government, Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, Heritage Canada, NorthwesTel Community TV, Yukon Energy, Klondike Visitors Association, Schmidt Mining, Air North, Yukon Brewing, Reel Canada, Red Mammoth Bistro, Bombay Peggy’s, NVD Hotels, Parks Canada, SPYA, Yukon Film Society, Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, Yukon School of Visual Arts, NFB, City of Dawson, Gold Rush, Eldo Enns, Dawson City General Store, johnsteins.com, Arctic Star Printing, Bonanza Market, Lulu Keating, Yukon Spa, Yukon Birch Syrup.

We are humbled to hold our festival on the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in.

Coffee House & Open Mic Night: 20 Year Anniversary!
2026-04-11 19:00 - 22:00 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
It’s hard to believe Coffee House & Open Mic Night has been happening at the KIAC Ballroom for 20 years!

Thank you to the group of amazing volunteers who have made this tradition thrive over the years, and have provided a family-friendly all ages space for the community to share and enjoy music, poetry, and more.

Come hang out, share your talents, enjoy the performances and treats. The Coffee House crew have decided to generously donate funds raised this month to KIAC, and we are extremely grateful.

2026 Awaken Festival - Dawson City - Trickster Performance Workshop by Philip Jonah Logan Geller
2026-04-15 17:30 - 20:00 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
This April, Gwaandak Theatre and Klondike Institute of Art and Culture are excited to be presenting two in-person events in Dawson City as part of the 2026 Awaken Festival!

Join us for Trickster Performance on Wednesday April 15th – a workshop facilitated by Philip Jonah Logan Geller – alongside a one-night only presentation of their performance showcase “who will save the night sky?” on Friday April 17th.
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Both the workshop and the performance will be taking place at Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom.
Admissions to these events is Pay-What-You-Want and pre-registration / tickets will be available at KIAC.CA / KIAC Office / At the Door prior to each event when doors open.
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Trickster Performance (Workshop)By Philip Jonah Logan GellerWednesday, April 15th – 6PM-8PM (Doors @ 5:30PM)Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom

Join experienced creator and performer Philip Jonah Logan Geller to explore trickster methodologies of performance and creation. Drawing from contemporary clown, physical theatre, Indigenous knowledges, and Land-based practices we will uncover our tricksters to play and generate material for performance.

As we stand at the very serious edge of the end of the world I truly believe Trickster is a key to how we can move and play forward in right relation with each other. Trickster is the one who teaches us about subversion and challenging power. Trickster tells us to celebrate the other, the strange, and the queer. Trickster offers a new-ancient knowledge system that is ancestral and future oriented.

In this workshop we will move our bodies and play, and we will explore ancestral and generational narratives that can stir up emotional responses, everyone is welcome to participate in whatever way feels best for them. Please come ready to experiment and play! There will be some movement and writing, all abilities are welcome. Please be aware that smudging will take place prior to this workshop. All are welcome to participate but none are required.

Register Here!

2026 Awaken Festival - Dawson City - who will save the night sky? - Created & Performed by Philip Jonah Logan Geller
2026-04-17 19:30 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
This April, Gwaandak Theatre and Klondike Institute of Art and Culture are excited to be presenting two in-person events in Dawson City as part of the 2026 Awaken Festival!

Join us for Trickster Performance on Wednesday April 15th – a workshop facilitated by Philip Jonah Logan Geller – alongside a one-night only presentation of their performance showcase “who will save the night sky?” on Friday April 17th.
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Both the workshop and the performance will be taking place at Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom.
Admissions to these events is Pay-What-You-Want and pre-registration / tickets will be available at KIAC.CA / KIAC Office / At the Door prior to each event when doors open.
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who will save the night sky?Created & Performed by Philip Jonah Logan GellerFriday, April 17th – 8PM Start (Doors @ 7:30PM)Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom

Allow me to take you on a celestial journey to a big board room in the sky. Plleeeaaassee, allow me to whisk my tail and weave you a tale on the tell tale signs of a GOOD STORY! A long time ago, in the future, an important group of star beings got together to discuss the fate of earth and the two-leggeds… and the party begins!
Blending bouffon, clown, storytelling, and spectacle, who will save the night sky? is an interactive solo performance reminding us of the importance of our relationship to the stars and sky world.
Developed with support from the Winnipeg Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and The Banff Centre.

Content Warnings: Audience participation, flashing lights, and mature language and subject matter.Length: ~75 Minutes
CREDITSCreator & Performer | Philip Jonah Logan GellerPromotional Photos | Andy Carroll
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*Details are accurate at time of posting and are subject to change.*
Check out upcoming KIAC events at: kiac.ca/calendar-of-events/
Meet the creative team and find out more about the upcoming Awaken Festival by visiting: gwaandaktheatre.ca/awaken-festival-2026

Classic Cinema Night: Ikiru - April 19th
2026-04-19 19:00 - 21:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Ikiru (1952)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Japan | 1952 | 2h 23m
Free entry, Cash Concessions, doors at 6:30.
In this gorgeous film, the legendary Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa adapts Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 novella, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” to tell the story of a bureaucrat, Kanji Watanabe who learns how fleeting and precious life really is when he is diagnosed with stomach cancer. After realizing he only has a short time left and concluding his job is absurd, Kanji’s search for meaning reconnects him to the life he sacrificed for work. After years of stagnation, the rediscovery and resurgence of his soul is unforgettable cinema and the ultimate memento mori.
Ikiru (Japanese – ‘to live”) is Akira Kurosawa’s answer to his existential musing about what it all really means. Considered by many to be his greatest (Samurai-free!) film, this masterful study of life and afterlife is profoundly moving and relatable. Do yourself a favour and come on down this April 19th to affirm life by facing death. Free on Dawson’s only big screen at Dënäkär Zho/KIAC Ballroom.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids at Dënäkär Zho / Klondike Institute of Art & Culture
2026-04-29 19:30 - 22:30 | Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC), 902 2nd Avenue, Dawson City
Snotty Nose Rez Kids

Wed, April 29 at Dënäkär Zho / KIAC Ballroom
Co-presented with the Dawson City Music Festival & Yukon Arts Centre

Doors open at 7:30 / music at 8:00
ALL AGES / Alcohol-free
Tickets: kiacyukon.square.site
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Snotty Nose Rez Kids tore into the music scene with unmistakeable talent and an unforgettable name. Showing off their lyrical prowess and natural storytelling ability, Yung Trybez and Young D jumpstarted the band with two back-to-back albums in 2017. Their follow up album, 2019’s TRAPLINE, really launched their career with hit “Boujee Natives,” and multiple awards including their first Juno nomination.
The band took their high voltage live show on the road and clocked 100 shows in 6 different countries. Their pandemic album, LIFE AFTER, saw greater industry recognition with multiple music magazine cover stories, and strong streaming platform support including Billboard advertisements in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square, playlist cover images, and an Amazon Twitch Channel Takeover. Taking the album on the road, the band toured 80 shows in support of the album across North America. They received their second Juno nomination and performed during the live broadcast. They were invited by The Toronto Raptors to play a half time show, and to the Vancouver Canucks to play in-between periods. Their 2022 project, I’M GOOD, HBU? elevated their career to new heights, and saw them receive their fourth Polaris Prize Shortlist, a win for top music video of the year at the Prism Prize Awards for their Beatles-inspired, DAMN RIGHT, and landed them 3 Western Canadian Music Awards, bringing their tally to 13 wins so far.
SNRK have gone on to dominate in Hip-Hop music, most recently achieving their biggest milestone, signing to Sony Music. SNRK are blazing their own path, weaving together a musical fabric of hard-hitting lyricism, revealing stories about the struggles they and their people have encountered, empowering protest songs for the front lines, and a humor that keeps even the heaviest of topics something you can vibe to.
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Meet & Greet Package add-on
Includes:
– Meet and Greet/Photo opportunity with Snotty Nose Rez Kids
– Drawstring Bag
– Sticker Pack
– Hat
– Early access to venue
– Early access to shop merchandise

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Thank you to our funders: Canada Council for the Arts, Government of Canada, and Yukon Government.
Thank you to our local sponsor: Northern Vision Development / the Downtown Hotel
