Terry Uyarak is a self-taught singer/songwriter and musician from Igloolik, a small and vibrant Inuit community located north of the Arctic circle between the Canadian mainland and Baffin Island in Nunavut. Igloolik is one of those special places in the Canadian Arctic, where Inuit language and culture are still strongly embedded into everyday life, and there’s a strong sense of community within.

Terry’s debut album Nunarjua Isulinginniani (Before the World Ends) was produced by Jace Lasek and titled carefully weaves together storytelling, soundscape and song to carry each listener on a journey, by dog team, to the ends of the word. Between Uyarak’s song writing, which is reflective of his experiences as a husband, father and hunter; and Igloolik elder Simon Qamaniq’s storytelling, you really begin to feel a sense of the environment in which they belong to.

Terry is no stranger to the tight knit Nunavut music scene, for over a decade he performed as an actor, juggler and musician, and toured around the globe with the only Inuit circus troupe in the world, ARTCIRQ.  Being a passionate hunter, he has been heavily involved in Artcirq’s cultural expeditions out on the land. Terry is Artcirq’s co-artistic director and respected elder.  He has performed with the Artcirq collective for the Vancouver Olympic Games, Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant and numerous festivals across 4 continents. Most notably, Terry is a revered hunter and carrier of traditional knowledge, which insightfully transpires in his work.

Most recently, Terry co-directed and performed in a major multidisciplinary production, Unikkaaqtuaq, that toured across Canada in 2020.