Inside Qaumajuq — Filming the Story Behind Winnipeg's Inuit Art Centre

—— Art Snap x DIRXECP

BEHIND THE

LENS AT

QAUMAJUQ

There are spaces that stop you in your tracks the moment you walk in. The Inuit art center at the Winnipeg Art Gallery is one of them — and we were given access to document the story behind it.

WORKS IN COLLECTION 27K+ WORLD'S LARGEST PUBLIC INUIT ART COLLECTION

NATURAL LIGHT SOURCES 22 SKYLIGHTS · FLOODING THE VISIBLE VAULT

PROJECT TYPE DOC INTERVIEW + B-ROLL · FOR ART SNAP

01 —

THE SPACE

Qaumajuq (pronounced KOW-ma-yourk) means "it is bright, it is lit" in Inuktitut. The name earns itself the moment you step inside. Designed by LA-based architect Michael Maltzan, the building is a feat of light and intention — a three-storey curved glass vault housing thousands of Inuit carvings in full public view, flooded from above by 22 skylights. The exterior's white stone façade nods to icebergs rising from the landscape. Every decision feels deliberate.

This is the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art — over 27,000 works spanning centuries of Inuit culture and creativity. Being given access to document this space cinematically wasn't something we took lightly.

Getting to amplify voices doing meaningful curatorial and design work in this city — that's the work we want DIRXECP to be doing more of. — Eric Peters, DIRXECP

02 —

THE PROJECT

Art Snap is a platform dedicated to making art more accessible and discoverable — connecting galleries, artists, and audiences who might not otherwise find their way inside. They reached out to DIRXECP to capture the story behind Qaumajuq. Not just what it looks like — but what it means.

Our role: film a sit-down interview with the designer and curator of the space, ask questions that draw out the vision, the philosophy, and the cultural weight behind every design decision. Around that conversation, we built b-roll that could carry the viewer through the architecture — the vault, the gallery floor, the interplay of light and stone.

The footage was handed off to Art Snap's editorial team for final editing and production. The finished piece is below.

FINISHED FILM — ART SNAP x QAUMAJUQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltc8vCbXsXQ

03 —

THE APPROACH

Documentary-style work — where you're capturing someone's genuine expertise and passion — requires a different presence behind the camera than commercial production. You have to earn the room. You have to listen before you frame.

INTERVIEW SETUP We conducted a structured interview with the space's designer/curator — building questions around the architecture, the curatorial philosophy, and what Qaumajuq represents for Winnipeg and for Inuit culture nationally.	B-ROLL COVERAGE Cinematic passes through the visible vault, the gallery floor, the skylights above. The goal was footage that could breathe on its own — that felt like the space, not just a record of it.
CULTURAL SENSITIVITY Qaumajuq exists at the intersection of Indigenous culture, contemporary art, and community. That context shaped every decision about how to frame, what to feature, and how to listen.	COLLABORATIVE HANDOFF All footage was organized and delivered to Art Snap's editors. Clean, well-labelled, ready for assembly. The editorial voice of the final piece is theirs — our job was to give them the best possible raw material.

04 —

WHY THIS KIND OF WORK MATTERS

A lot of what DIRXECP does is commercial — real estate, events, corporate content. Projects like this are a reminder of why we got into filmmaking. The spaces, the people, the stories that deserve to be documented with the same care and craft as any major campaign.

—— WHAT DOCUMENTARY CONTENT DOES WELL

• It creates context — audiences understand not just what something is, but why it was built, who it was built for, and what it represents.

  
  

• It extends reach — Art Snap's platform brings Qaumajuq to people who haven't visited yet. That's a meaningful function for an institution serving a national collection.

  
  

• It archives intent — the designer's words, in their own voice, on camera, become part of the record of this building. That has lasting value.

  
  

• It builds trust — for galleries, institutions, and cultural organizations, video that treats the subject seriously signals credibility to new audiences.

  
  

05 —

WORKING WITH ART SNAP

Art Snap is building something with real purpose — a platform that lowers the barrier between curious audiences and meaningful art experiences. The collaboration was clean and professional: clear brief, shared creative goals, and a smooth handoff process.

If you're a platform, gallery, cultural organization, or institution looking for documentary video content that goes beyond surface-level coverage — that actually captures the voice and vision behind what you've built — we'd love to talk.

THE BOTTOM LINE

STORIES.

SPACES.

CINEMATIC.

DIRXECP is a Winnipeg-based commercial video production studio. We work across music videos, events, corporate, real estate, and documentary — bringing the same cinematic attention to every project, regardless of scale.

This project was produced for Art Snap. All editorial and final production by the Art Snap team.