Local artists get southern exposure
Rankin Inlet's Matchbox Gallery displayed in exhibition at the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 2, 2014
RANKIN INLET
The Matchbox Gallery in Rankin Inlet continues to put the work of local artists on the national and international map.
Jackie Ittigaitok, one of several artists who work with the Matchbox Gallery to create and display their work, shows off ceramic masks for sale at the gallery. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo |
Since the art of ceramics was introduced to the Inuit by southern artists who moved to the region for work, Rankin Inlet has become famous for its creativity and unique artwork.
"This is the only place in the whole cirumpolar region where indigenous people work with clay, here in Rankin," said Sandra Nichol, who runs the gallery while the owners Jim and Sue Shirley are away for the summer.
Most recently, the gallery sent many ceramic pieces, hand-crafted by artists around the Kivalliq who come to their studio to work, to the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto for a summer-long gallery running from the end of April until early August.
"This is how the (gallery) has put Rankin and its ceramics on the international collectors market by having a major show at least once a year at a centre some place in North America, or even some in Europe as well," said Sandra Nichol, who is looking after the gallery while owners Jim and Sue Shirley are away for the summer.
"That's how artists are recognized here in Rankin for their ceramics work."
The show in Toronto, called The Matchbox Gallery: A Retrospective, includes new pieces by current artists as well as the works of artists who have since died. It includes not only ceramic pieces but also the works of two-dimensional paintings, or lithographics, by Simon Tekoome and Janet Kigusiuq of Baker Lake.
Nichol said shows such as this often create a lot of buzz for the gallery and the artists themselves.
"There's a lot of activity that happens. As a result of the shows, I get a lot of calls and I imagine the e-mail as well but there is a lot of interest, more exposure," Nichol said. "And that's how artists find out how much of their stuff is looked at."
Along with shows across North America and Europe, the gallery also has a website where interested collectors and art enthusiasts can check out the items for sale at the gallery, which Nichol said has picked up traffic since a revamp a few years ago.
People can also go to the site and learn more about the artists who work there, Nichol said, going on to explain the relationship between the artists and the gallery.
"Artists come and get the use of the studio in exchange for using tools and equipment they negotiate a piece that the gallery receives in exchange for that," she said. "And after that they do commissioned work for selling back to the gallery or continue and sell them on their own, but for the most part with the clay work it's sold through the gallery."
