Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Oct 03/05) - The Canada Council for the Arts released the amount of 2004-05 grants allotted to Nunavut's arts community last month.

The Council awarded $472,350 in grants to 24 artists ($288,800) and five arts organizations ($183,550) in Iglulik, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, Cape Dorset, Kimmirut, Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet.

Recipients included the Lucie Idlout Ensemble ($15,000), the Nunavut Independent TV Network ($56,250), Kangiqliniq Centre for Arts and Learning ($35,000), Qaggiq Theatre Company ($52,300) and the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association ($25,000).

Award winning filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk of Iglulik received three grants totalling $94,500 to produce his latest film, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen.

Lizzie Ittinuar of Rankin Inlet received $20,000 to create a bordered hamlet map made of cloth, caribou and seal skin.

In addition to the arts grants, four Nunavut authors received almost $475,000 in payments through the Public Lending Right program.

Nunavut, which is home to 0.1 per cent of Canada's population and 0.2 per cent of Canadian artists, received .39 per cent of the total amount of money distributed across Canada.

The council assessed 72 applications from Nunavut, representing 0.4 per cent of the total applications received from across Canada in 2004-05.

The number of applications increased 150 per cent over the past five years.

"There's usually a correlation between the number of applications from a given province or territory and the amount of money they get," said the council's Donna Balkan.

Per capita cultural spending in Nunavut ranks third among the provinces and territories in terms of federal contributions.

Canada Council grants