Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Sep 19/05) - Artists from across the Kivalliq have gathered together at the Matchbox Gallery in Rankin Inlet for a series of traditional arts workshops.

The program provides training to artists who are full-time professionals with established skills.

Its objective is to bring artists together who have worked in isolation for years.

The gallery's Jim Shirley says participating artists will be able to share their skills, communicate with each other and receive both literacy and numeracy upgrading.

The 12-week program will also introduce them to skills not readily available in their home communities, such as ceramic work, drawing and stencil-print making.

"While it's only early, things have been going well since we began on Aug. 22," says Shirley.

"Our group has already produced some beautiful work."

The majority of the program's funding was provided by the Department of Economic Development and Transportation, along with the federal government.

The Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth also contributed to the project.

Shirley says the regional art school is a vision the gallery has been pursuing for a long while.

"Basically, we want to get people out of isolated situations where they're just cranking out stuff, making a bit of money and that's it.

"Nobody's looking at the whole person who does the work, and we need to deal with the whole person."

Shirley says art receives no government subsidies to speak of, even though it's a major part of the true Northern economy.

He says artists are the second-highest contributors to the Kivalliq economy and their money stays in the community.

"There are issues associated with art because it's an off-the-books economy.

"While that puts it at a definite disadvantage, not everyone in the North is going to step into a nine-to-five job."

Shirley says people need options for survival and that doesn't mean living on social assistance, which can rob people of their dignity.

"Artists have dignity and self-respect because they make a substantial contribution to Northern culture and society.

"These people are deserving of real recognition, not the token attention they usually receive.

"We need to see a drastic improvement to the support infrastructure currently in place for the arts."