KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET
The Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop is $4.5 million closer to becoming a reality in the community of Cape Dorset.

An architectural rendering of the Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop exterior by the architects for the project, Panaq Design. - image courtesy of Panaq Design

The funds, announced June 27, come from Canadian Heritage, topping a March announcement by Infrastructure Canada that it is investing $2 million. The project, a partnership between the Municipality of Cape Dorset and the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, is estimated to cost approximately $10 million.

"Our community is extremely grateful to Canadian Heritage, Infrastructure Canada and all the other Canadian and Nunavut government departments for supporting this project. Along with our national, private fundraising campaign, they have demonstrated their deep commitment and support for our Kenojuak Cultural Centre," said Cape Dorset Mayor Padlaya Qiatsuk.

Previously, Cape Dorset MLA David Joanasie told Nunavut News/North that a dedicated cultural space has been a point of discussion in the community since the early 1990s. Currently, as Joanasie explains it, the Cape Dorset artistic enterprise, long producing the highest caliber art, is split into several buildings.

The Cape Dorset West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative print shop was established in 1959 and gained an international reputation for its art.

Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson called the existing Cape Dorset artist studio space "a fire-trap" Feb. 25 in his response to the Speech from the Throne.

"Our elders have been waiting a long time for this centre, and the whole community is very enthusiastic about seeing this project built," said Qiatsuk.

"The centre will be a place for our people and visitors to hear our stories and learn more about our ancestors. And it will give our artists better spaces to create, develop their skills, and show our youth and future generations that they can find their own purpose and success in art."

The centre will be a multi-purpose facility that includes permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, artist studios with facilities for lithography, etching, drawing and stone cutting and a space where the community can gather to preserve and share its stories, traditions and culture.

Campaign manager Kate Dillon, who calls the fresh dollars "a great nod from Canada," says the announcement from Heritage Canada Minister Melanie Joly will help inspire private donors.

"We're raising $3 million from the private sector for this building, with over $7 million from the government - Nunavut and the federal. So it's incredible good news."

Dillon says the private campaign must still raise $800,000.

"We're in the home stretch."

Dillon adds the centre "hits a chord with a lot of people who have grandmothers or aunts or uncles or parents collecting Inuit art or sculptures from the 60s or 70s. The Arctic, I think it's coming into its own. It's opening up and Inuit are getting more attention as are many First Nations across the country. Long

overdue."

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