Husband and wife team will run annual Arts festival
Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services
Inuvik (Apr 27/01) - Gail Hodder and husband, Darrin White, received bad and good news recently.
They found out that the jewelry program at the local campus of Aurora College, which they have taught since September, will not be renewed for next year.
But at about the same time, they had the opportunity to take over the reins from the two key organizers at the annual Great Northern Arts Festival.
White will replace executive director Tanya Van Valkenburg, and Hodder will replace artistic director Marilyn Dzaman. The four will work as from the first of June until shortly after the 13th annual GNAF ends. This year's festival goes from July 13-22.
"Darrin and I will learn the ropes, so to speak, which we're thankful for," Hodder said. "We're very enthused. It's an opportunity of a lifetime, really. For two artists to come to the North and to be given this opportunity is mind-boggling."
Hodder said that after teaching in the Eastern Arctic for two years, she and White were glad to have the chance to teach in Inuvik, in part because of the GNAF. She said they had encouraged many of their students to submit works and attend the festival.
"Once we were in Inuvik we really liked the community, we liked that there was an art community here. In most of the smaller communities, it's very hard to get a pool of artists together," Hodder said.
Hodder and White joined the GNAF board in October.
"We feel pretty confident. Darrin and I are both working artists. We do make our own work, we do stone carving. So I think we can bring a lot to the festival, in that we can really relate to the artists and what their needs are," said Hodder.
Organizers have finished the artist selection process for this year's festival. A total of 92 are scheduled to attend, with 40 of them being in the Beaufort Delta.
Also, the image has been picked to grace the front of this year's posters, flyers and programs. It will be a carving by Eli Nasogaluak of Tuktoyaktuk.
