Ottawa (Apr 25/05) - Ensconced within a government building in Ottawa, two women keep a close eye on more than 4,000 people.

They're not spies. Their names are Diane Webster and Heather Campbell and they run the Inuit Art Centre - an office and gallery within the headquarters of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

Heather Campbell and Diane Webster run the Inuit Art Centre in Ottawa for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The centre maintains about 4,000 files on Inuit artists across the country.

Part of their job is maintaining files on the careers of Inuit artists. The department began the files in the 1960s and they now number more than 4,000. Besides being highly educated women working in a field they enjoy, they're also both Inuk.

"We're all Inuit employees, all two of us," said Campbell with a laugh.

Webster, who handles most of the research and archiving, is from Baker Lake. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Anthropology at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Campbell, who runs the gallery, hails from Ritolet, Labrador, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Newfoundland's Memorial University and completed the Inuit Art Foundation's cultural industries training program.

The centre's gallery opened in 1990 and artists can apply to have a solo or group exhibition held there, through the acquisition/exhibition program.

Previous group exhibits have featured female artists, Nunavik artists, Labrador artists and Inuit artists now living in the south.

An exhibition of art by Jimmy Iqaluq of Sanikiluaq opens April 28.

Webster and Campbell spend a good chunk of their time doing detective work.

They've both become skilled at recognizing individual artists' styles. People who own Inuit art often come to them for help in identifying the artists. The files come in handy when students come to research types of art or particular artists.

"We get people whose dad used to be an artist, and they never saw any of his pieces, and they ask if we have any photographs," said Webster.

Travels North

They maintain the files by collecting news and magazine clippings and travel to one community each year to interview the artists to update and enrich the files.

Workdays become hectic when an exhibit is about to open.

"There's a lot of organizing and a lot of writing, transcribing of interviews, interviewing artists, and setting up their travel," said Webster.

When asked if there was any part of the job they disliked, neither hesitated.

"Paperwork," said Webster. "There are a lot of forms that need to be filled out when you work for the government."