THE
GREENLAND
CONNECTION

(Kalaallit Nunaannut Atassuteqaat)

Greenland is the world's largest island (more than two million square kilometres), yet with one of the smallest national populations (56,000). The southern point, Cape Farewell, is on a similar latitude to Southern Alaska, Shetland and Helsinki, yet the northernmost point, Oodaaq Island, is closer to the North Pole than any other land on Earth.

The population consists mainly of ethnic Inuit (Kalaallit), who have traditionally hunted and fished for their sustenance. In a country where no crops can be grown, nor animals farmed, the Eskimos survive on what they can harvest from the sea, plus a few wild animals like musk-ox, the occasional reindeer, and polar bear.

Greenland is in every sense closer to being another planet than perhaps any other country in the world. Internationally known composer Adrian Vernon Fish has had a lifelong affinity with Greenland, and its spectacular and immense ice-scapes. He has made regular visits, giving concerts in many of the isolated settlements, travelling by dog sledge, snow scooter and helicopter. Over the years, Adrian has built up an immense fund of knowledge about the Greenlanders, their culture and traditions, and how climate change is effecting the people of the world's northernmost land.

Adrian is available for bookings worldwide at all venues from arts centres and lecture societies to schools and colleges. He tells in his own inimitable way, of his adventures and what it is really like to live in such a potentially hostile environment, with an average annual mean temperature of -11° celsius. Adrian brings along many artefacts, which help give a glimpse into the lives of these remarkable people who live further north than anyone else on earth. These include sealskins, fur clothing, dog whips, tusk carvings, a full-size west Greenland sledge, and much more.

Adrian can make himself available for a variety of visits, from one-off lectures to a complete day of Greenland experience, to ongoing weekly or fortnightly visits, each time spending perhaps an hour giving an insight into the hardy Eskimo life. These combine to bring alive a country that is usually outside most people's realm of experience, bringing it to life through talk, craftwork, photos, videos and working with everyone's natural imagination.