Rankin Inlet (Sep 13/06) - Youth from across the Kivalliq had the chance to learn from a group of professional artists in Rankin Inlet earlier this month.

The youth art camp was sponsored by the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) and featured the talents of the art group, Drawn Onward.

The group was joined in Rankin by photographer Christopher Wahl.

Jeremy Down is one of seven artists in Drawn Onward who travel the nation painting Canadian landscapes and then bring them back to Toronto for display.

Down said the artists were on their first trip to the Arctic in 2005 when they met the KIA's Bernadette Dean and her husband, Bert, on a ship sailing to Greenland from Iqaluit.

"Bernadette had already started culture and music camps, and was thinking about an art camp when we met," said Down.

"Our group had done some teaching in the past, and we were able to pull everything together to do the week-long camp in Rankin."

Down said the youth who attended the camp picked their own subject matter. He said the event was simply about providing them with the opportunity to paint and draw.

"We connected with a lot of the kids because there were different skill levels involved.

"Some kids lacked skill, but had a passion to learn, while others were very skilled.

"It turned into a real one-on-one experience."

Down said every day was a different experience, in terms of the student-teacher relationship. He said the instructors got to know what each youth wanted to do and only jumped in when needed.

"We had 16 kids and eight teachers, which is a great ratio when you're teaching the same lesson to everyone.

"There would be kids in the middle of a project who wouldn't need extra attention, so we'd focus on those who needed the extra help."

Down said there were a number of youth at the camp who had talent beyond what they'd been taught.

He said it was exciting to see so many with a real knack for art.

"We didn't really have a chance to talk to any of the kids about a possible future in art, but it's definitely an option for some of them.

"If you put your heart into something you have talent at, you have an opportunity.

"That's what we wanted to do - provide an opportunity for these kids, while giving them experience with southerners and the exchange of different ideas.

"It was an intense week and I hope we get the chance to do it again."