Mapping the future at Nunavut Festival
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Nov 20/00) - Almost 70 artists from all corners of Nunavut gathered in Rankin Inlet last week.
They were in town for the second annual Nunavut Arts Festival, Nov. 10-14. They came with carvings, prints, clothing and jewelry. They came to talk, work, and vote at the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association annual general meeting.
"Everything went great," says Matthew Nuqingaq, NACA's chair.
"The people in Rankin were so helpful, with billeting and everything. It went smoothly."
Nuqingaq says that the artwork was great, especially the variety. Every Nunavut art form was represented at the festival.
Besides exhibiting their work in the exhibit hall at the Singiituq Complex, artists demonstrated their artistic skill in a separate room, as well as at the Alaittuq high school gym.
"We also had a couple of people from stores, a representative from the States -- the Canadian representative couldn't make it -- for tools, metal working tools and carving tools. Opus, who sells painting supplies and paper was also there," says Nuqingaq.
Opus donated boxes of materials that were given away in draws throughout the festival.
The artists beamed when receiving the expensive art materials.
Seminars were held for artists, with speakers from the Workers' Compensation Board, The Inuit Art Foundation and the Nunavut Development Corporation.
Nuqingaq says this is one area NACA will target for improvement.
"We'll have the seminars really well marked out. We want to be working more on the promotion and marketing area" he says, adding that NACA has only one permanent employee, and the festival requires many, many hours and volunteers to pull it off.
Another concern NACA's board will review is the weather. Not that they can influence it too much, of course, but they will consider another time of year.
"We'd like to have the festival when there's less blizzards. Some people from Clyde River, Pond Inlet and Sanikiluaq didn't get here because of bad weather."
Nuqingaq says they won't choose dates that will create competition between their festival and Inuvik's Great Northern Arts Festival.
The board will also be deciding which Kitikmeot community will host the next festival.
"The artists are happy," says Nuqingaq.
"Being an artist is a lonely thing. It gives you more energy, being with other artists."
One elder who spoke with Nuqingaq during the festival said he appreciated the seminars.
"Even the elder, even if he was quite old, he said he learned a lot."
Nuqingaq adds without Theresie Tungilik and Andrea Duffy of Rankin Inlet, the festival would not have been possible.
