Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (May 26/99) - For Gary Rasmunssen, the opening of his new Inuit carvings and art shop in Rankin Inlet is the first step towards bigger and better things.

Rasmunssen had owned and operated a similar crafts shop in Iqaluit under the same name, Inukshuk-Quelleq Carving Studio. An encounter with Rankin's John Hickes and plans to take Inuit art to a higher prominence led to his opening the new shop.

"I knew many people in Rankin from working at the Winnipeg boarding house," said Rasmunssen. "I wanted to relocate here years ago, but I was waiting for Nunavut to become a reality before making my move because all my pieces reflect Nunavut.

"Right now I'm featuring a lot of Baffin Islands soapstone carvings and whalebone, but I'm starting to buy local carvings. I'm on the radio everyday, but it takes a while for the people to get to know you."

Rasmunssen's ancestral origins lie in Iceland, from where his grandfather travelled to explore northern Greenland. He has spent a lot of time in Canada's North, spending time in Iqaluit, Gjoa Haven, Inuvik, Kimmirut, Cambridge Bay, Tuktoyaktuk and now Rankin.

A carver of note himself, Rasmunssen assisted in establishing the first Inuvik Arts Festival in 1989 and volunteered to help out with the 1992 Inuit Circumpolar Conference. He say his current shop is for local artists to show their work and he is also looking for space to house his own carving studio.

"I'm looking for funding through the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth to use my studio as a way of advancing the quality of Inuit work so that it gains a higher auction or sale price.

"I think the timing is right for this type of endeavour because it's needed. I think people are looking for a carving co-ordinator and, with the creation of Nunavut, the opportunities are there."

Rasmunssen says he has received support from Kivalliq Partners and the hamlet and hopes the Nunavut government won't be far behind. He says his clients are Nunavut beneficiaries and he wants to help them advance and be successful.

"The federal government is helping Nunavut carvers and now it's up to the Nunavut government to also lend some support. This whole idea started last October in Cape Dorset when John Hickes asked when I was going to Rankin to start something like this.

"I've sunk everything I have, financially, into starting this venture, but I believe in it. I want to work very closely with local artists, but it's hard at first because I'm still a stranger to them. However, people are starting to open up and I know some of the dialect from living in Gjoa Haven.

"Basically, I want to form an honest and friendly working relationship with local artists and work to advance the industry."