Rankin Inlet hosts second annual Nunavut Arts Festival
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Nov 08/00) - Over 70 artists from 24 Nunavut communities will be in Rankin Inlet this week.
The second annual Nunavut Arts Festival will be held Nov. 10-14.
"We'll be featuring arts of all types, including carvers, wall-hanging artists, jewelry, sewing dolls, amauti, weavers, ceramics, painters -- just about anything you can think of," says festival co-ordinator Andrea Duffy. "There's also lots of activities going on in and around the events, so everyone should be able to find something they enjoy."
The opening ceremony will be held this Friday Maani Ulijuk middle school beginning at 7 p.m.
The exhibition and sales will run daily at the Singiituq Complex, and there will be a number of workshops, demonstrations, seminars, dances and feasts held throughout the community during the festival.
The festival ends Tuesday with a square dance beginning at 9:30 p.m.
"We're going to have quite a few well-known artists in town for the festival, including Mary Thompson from Arviat and Simon Tookoome from Baker Lake.
"Mona Netser of Coral Harbour will also be here and she has some especially beautiful dolls."
The festival will offer a wide variety of wares and exhibits from Repulse Bay to Gjoa Haven.
Duffy says criteria outlining the event was put in place with community selection committees to ensure a balance of male and female artists, from youth to elders.
She says there were many people who worked hard to make the festival possible.
"Theresie Tungilik worked very hard to get this going. As for funders, the Department of Sustainable Development, Kivalliq Partners in Development, the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Heritage Canada, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and Skyward Aviation have all been major contributors and deserve a big thanks from everyone involved."
