Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jul 13/98) - The Great Northern Arts Festival is just a week away and the artists who have accepted an invitation to Inuvik are no doubt packing their bags.

The annual arts and cultural festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary and boasts a wide range of artists from all different media and regions of the North.

Angus Cockney was born and raised in Tuktoyaktuk. Recognized as one of the most prominent artists from the Arctic, his work has been included in collections around the globe.

Cockney is a self-taught artist who has tried his hand at prints, marble carving and multimedia artwork. He also won the coveted spot as the featured artist on the cover of the NorthwesTel telephone book published and distributed across the NWT in 1996.

While he now makes his home in Canmore, Alta., Cockney still draws inspiration from traditional and contemporary issues that affect the North.

Organizers are also excited to welcome Dene Fur Clouds Ltd. from Fort Providence to this year's festival. Established by a group of men and women in Fort Providence, Dene Fur Clouds Ltd. is dedicated to the preservation of the tradition of creating fur garments.

The group has already received some attention on the international stage, participating in the first Canadian Indigenous Arts Festival in Scottsdale, Ariz., earlier this year and at the Montreal Fur Fair. The group is also scheduled to participate in the Mode Accessories Show and the Toronto Gift Show later this year.

Two representatives from the group will be in Inuvik to demonstrate their methods and to exhibit some of their recent pieces.

While the majority of the invited artists will be from the NWT, the festival will also welcome a number of artists from other parts of the world.

Yukon-based artist, Gerald Kortello, has a degree in fine arts and a commission from the Yukon government for a ceramic piece. Kortello specializes in clay sculpture and oil painting. When he isn't working on his art, Kortello has been known to visit galleries throughout Europe and North America.

Also from the Yukon is Whitehorse-based Christine Phillips. Born in northern Quebec, Phillips began her path as a painter in her teens and has worked consistently to develop her skills in both watercolors and printmaking. The inspiration for her work comes from her fascination with the intense colors and vastness of the Northern landscape and the beauty she sees in her surrounding environment.

While not currently based in the North, Labrador-based artist John Terriak is well-known to Inuit artists -- but is making his very first appearance at the Great Northern Arts Festival.

The former president of the Inuit Art Foundation, Terriak is a self-taught carver who has worked on his skills at workshops in Ontario, Quebec and Vermont. Much of his work depicts nature and legends Terriak heard from his father as a young boy. His work has been displayed in a number of galleries throughout eastern Canada.

The Great Northern Arts Festival is scheduled to take place July 17-26 at Sir Alexander Mackenzie school in Inuvik.