Started in 2017, the Indigenous Artist Spotlight series was created to foster greater awareness and understanding of the strength and diversity of Indigenous art available in Ontario and beyond.
This month, we spoke with Julia Ulayok Davis, a performing artist working in theatre, film, and television, based in Vancouver, BC. Julia is currently touring with Kiuryaq, a co-production between Akpik Theatre and Theaturtle.
Julia's Links: Instagram • TikTok • Kiuryaq
About the Artist
My name is Julia Ulayok Davis and I am an Inuk actor, singer and creator based in Vancouver, BC. I care deeply about sharing my passion for theatre, film and music, and have had opportunities in the past year to perform in places such as Yellowknife and Greenland. I have an Undergraduate degree in Classical Voice (Performance Stream) and studied for two years at the Village Conservatory for Music Theatre. Most recently, I have been involved in the touring production of Kiuryaq, a co-production between Akpik Theatre and Theaturtle.
I am an Inuk adoptee, born in Churchill, MB and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My birth family is from the community of Arviat, NU, although I have family now living in communities across the Canadian North.
From Winnipeg to the World
Musical theatre is quite big in Winnipeg and it has been since I was a child! It was always my dream to perform on Rainbow Stage (Canada’s largest and longest-running outdoor theatre) since I saw their production of “Peter Pan” in 2008. In 2022, I made my debut with them as the Toto puppeteer in The Wizard of Oz, and the next year I played Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. That was a huge dream role of mine and definitely my favourite career moment thus far.
The ViC (Village Conservatory for Music Theatre) made a huge impact on not only my confidence as an artist but helped me make a lot of friends and connections in the industry. It is a part-time program and consists of dance class, singing lessons, masterclasses and workshops with artists around the city. I still continue to attend their open-mic nights and events throughout the year as it’s a great way to continue to connect with other artists.
I started posting my original songs in TikTok in 2021 and it helped me connect with other Indigenous creators all over the country. I’m not sure how Reneltta [Arluk; founder of Akpik Theatre] found me, but I remember getting the audition request from my agent and being really excited about the story. To meet Reneltta, as she is an Inuk director and actor, was very exciting as I have only met a handful of other Inuit working in our industry. Those connections are very important to me.
A Story of the Northern Lights
I have been touring with Kiuryaq since Fall 2025, and workshopping with the show since Spring 2025. The show tells the story of two siblings coming together, with stories of the Northern Lights (Kiuryaq) from across the circumpolar north woven through. We have had the incredible opportunity to travel to the Northwest Territories and Greenland, with plans to tour to Norway in fall of 2026. Performing in these smaller communities such as Hay River and Inuvik has been very exciting, not only for us as the performers but to be able to meet people from these communities that are so much an inspiration and the very heart of these stories.
Audiences can expect to be fully immersed in the beauty of the northern lights. In Indigenous cultures across the circumpolar north, the northern lights connect us and hold stories for generations. In this show, we share these stories through music, light, projection and sound.
I hope they also see a story of siblings reconnecting with not only each other but with their culture, their history and who they are at their core. One of my favourite messages from the show is the notion that we can be here in the moment while still honouring and remembering both the love and pain of the past.
"I saw the Northern Lights once, but this play took me deeper... ‘Kiuryaq’ was at its most captivating when it directly tackled the tension between Indigenous Arctic life and philosophy, and Western culture."
The New York Times, Oct. 30, 2025
Moments That Stay With Me
In Hay River – a small community in the NWT – we had bannock and stew after the show. I was feeling tired at this point after a long day of set-up and preparing for a visit from the New York Times. I ended up sitting and chatting after the show with a lovely man and woman who were members of the community. They told me about how frustrating it is to watch Indigenous mothers have to be flown to Edmonton to give birth away from their friends and family. I had done an episode of the TV show SkyMed that tackled this exact issue, so to talk to community members who have experienced this was very cathartic.
When we had the opportunity to perform some scenes for a high school on a reserve, we had some great questions from kids who had never had the chance to see live theatre, which was pretty special. Any interaction that could inspire young people to see or make more art makes me very happy.
Looking Ahead
Next steps for me start with moving to Vancouver full-time later this month. I’m hoping to audition for a lot more film and TV and see where this takes me. I will still be auditioning for theatre and honouring those roots but my focus for the next year will be taking a bigger step into the film/TV industry. ∎