by Nancy Gardiner
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 22/97) - Northern artists and craft workers got a boost recently, when the manager of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts and Crafts visited Frankfurt, Germany, representing one of four Canadian aboriginal companies featured in an huge international giftware and design fair.

About 100,000 people attended the show, with 5,000 exhibitors in 11 buildings at the Messe Frankfurt, which means "fairgrounds." All 285,000 square metres available were booked, according to Industry Canada.

Geoff Ryan, manager of the Pangnirtung centre, displayed Northern wool tapestries, the artistry of Pangnirtung printmakers and weavers in the hopes of increasing the centre's market.

"Weaving was introduced here somewhere around 1970 to 1971. It was a GNWT project, so the ladies here are still at it," says Ryan. "We're the only ones in Canada doing weaving as a group," he says, as a result of that program.

Eleven employees round out the tapestry studio weavers -- 10 women and one man.

"We had four printmakers next year and hope to have six next year," says Ryan.

He also brought along the work of other Northern communities.

A teepee from the Fort McPherson Tent and Canvas Shop, vests from Taloyoak, stuffed polar bears and puppets from Rankin Inlet, moccasins and birchbark baskets from Fort Liard and smoked char from Nunavut made the journey overseas.

The Uqqurmiut Centre is on the east coast of Baffin Island. It showcases limited-edition crafts, specializing in hand-woven tapestries and fine prints, stone sculptures, ivory jewelry, hand-crocheted sweaters, embroidery, dolls, blankets and scarves.

Ryan made contacts with international buyers and distributers at the trade show. No direct sales were made though -- it was more for contacts. This was the Pangnirtung company's first foray into a trade show of this scope.

"They say to do business in Europe you have to be committed for three years," says Ryan.

What did Ryan learn for the next time he plans to go, which he hopes will be next year?

"I would have brought more crafts."

The centre has expanded its line of products venturing into the sign business in 1996 after recovering from a fire in 1992.

But these signs are different from the normal fare.

"We use skills of stencilled printmaking on plexi-glass signs and use stone or wood art skills to carve into red cedar signs," Ryan explains.

Hand-painted signs are a commercial application of some very fine art skills, he adds. Depending upon size and the amount of work involved, sign prices range from under $50 to the $7,000 or $8,000 range.

Some of the centre's signs are already hanging in Nunavut, with one at an Iqaluit museum and another at the Inuit association office. One is in the works for the Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development Department's district office.

The NWT Development Corporation owns 51 per cent of the Uqqurmiut Centre. The Uqqurmiut Artists' Association owns the remaining 49 per cent.