by Nancy Gardiner
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 01/97) - The 40th anniversary edition of the Cape Dorset calendar is currently in the works for 1999, celebrating four decades of print-making in Cape Dorset.

Leslie Boyd is manager of Dorset Fine Arts, the marketing arm of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op Ltd.

"It will be a retrospective collection, so we're looking together to show the development over the years," Boyd said in an interview from Cape Dorset.

In an increasingly competitive market, the Dorset calendar production numbers are down, but work continues.

The 1998 calendars are already in retail outlets.

"New technologies have made new approaches possible. With lithography, we're able to add color, as opposed to the original stone-cut process and stencils," she said.

"We're doing all the media, with the new methods complementing the original stone cut process." And etching is opening up new possibilities.

New mediums, the themes and artists imagery has changed.

"Some are more contemporary in their expression," she said, "making bold statements and they're extremely popular."

"A calendar is a nice way to feature some developments over the years. We tried to feature a good variety with just about everybody."

No decisions have been made on the artists for the 1999 calendar, but Boyd is checking through catalogues.

Primary markets for the calendars are Canada, followed by the United States, but requests come from as far away as Asia and Europe. The calendars are sold at Northern Images across the North.

Lisa Seagrave, manager of Northern Images in Yellowknife, said the calendars sold out last year and there is a loyal following for them.

The calendars, which are published and distributed through Firefly Books, used to be produced in quantities of 18,000 to 25,000. But due to a competitive market, production dropped to between 12,000 to 15,000 calendars produced in a year.

In the South, the calendars are sold in retail stores, but Boyd's company acts as wholesalers to Firefly Books.

"The costs of producing an art calendar are getting more and more expensive. With the quantities now, we're at a break-even point now. But we do have a loyal following," said Boyd.