Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Aug 10/98) - Carving is much more than a form of artistic expression in Nunavut -- it's also a way for families to put food on the table.

But Goo Arlooktoo, the MLA for Baffin South, where carving brings in an annual $3 million in income, says the industry is in dire straits.

"The people who start early in the morning each day to try to finish a carving to buy food to put on the table, to buy gas for hunting, those are the guys that are hurting," says Arlooktoo. He represents the people of Kimmirut, Cape Dorset and Sanikiluaq.

Focusing on the issue for the last three years, Arlooktoo has more recently been attempting to raise the profile of the troubles plaguing the carvers by establishing a Carvers' Association.

Comprised of Baffin carvers as well as art buyers, galleries, government officials, the Qikiqtaluk Corporation and several other experts, the association will officially be formed this September at a conference in Iqaluit.

While its initial focus will be the Baffin region, Arlooktoo says the association will eventually extend into the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions.

"We're close to getting some form of advocacy group. It'll keep the carvers organized and be a voice for them," says Arlooktoo.

More specifically, the primary aim of the association will be to work out the issues of supply and demand in the carving industry's markets.

Arlooktoo says that because of the lack of employable skills and options, more people are turning to carving as a source of income. Coupled with reduced sales over recent years, the end result has been markets and warehouses glutted with carvings, many of which are poor quality.

"We have a whole group of people that produce moderate to poor quality carvings on a large scale...that's not really what artistry is about."

Arlooktoo says his government has a crucial role to play in reducing those numbers, although he hopes the association will eventually be a non-political group.

"It has to do with economic strategies and government and businesses finding new opportunities like mining, oil and gas."

Jerry Ell, the president of the Qikiqtaluk Corporation, says that while re-training people for other forms of work is necessary, improving the market for Inuit art is his first concern.

"The focus of this is to see if we can find additional markets out there. Right now, southern Canada might be saturated with Inuit art but that's not the only marketplace," Ell says.

Reducing the number of hands dealing with the carvings will also help to revive the industry. Ell says fewer intermediaries in the carving industry will drive down consumer costs and raise the profits for the artists.

"Every time (a carving) changes hands, it doubles in price. From what I've seen, that's the industry norm in terms of artwork."

On direction from their shareholders, the corporation has been pushing the Qikiqtani Inuit Association to do more work on the existing Baffin quarry sites and to explore potential areas that contain carving stone.

Above all else, Ell says rejuvenating the industry -- formerly a Nunavut-wide $25 million cash cow -- is at the root of the association's future work.

"The carving industry is an important sector of the economy. We're just getting into the marketing."