Updates and highlights from the world of Inuit art and culture
Royal Collection On View in Japan
As a celebratory gesture of the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, Inuit art from the collection of Princess and the late Prince Takamado has been donated to the Embassy of Canada in Japan. The donated pieces, along with other works from their collection, were included in the exhibition Inuit Carvings from the Prince and Princess Takamado Collection (September 13 – November 21, 2017), held at the Embassy’s Prince Takamado Gallery and featured works by Nuna Parr, Qaqaq Ashoona (1928–1996) and Kellypalik Qimirpik (1948–2017). The late Prince Takamado attended Queen’s University in the late 1970s and returned to Canada a number of times, having developed a fondness for Canada, including Inuit culture and art. After their marriage, Prince and Princess Takamado visited the Canadian North on two occasions, meeting Inuit artists and developing a deep appreciation for their work.
Inuit Art Takes Off at Iqaluit Airport
On August 13, 2017, the newly finished Iqaluit International Airport officially opened its doors to the public. The 9,000-square-foot terminal is eight times the size of the former airport—the iconic 1980s-era yellow-painted building, familiar to many—and boasts ample display space for the dozens of works of Inuit art on loan from the Government of Nunavut and Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) collections. Included are 58 sculptural works and 13 wall hangings that were selected by Darlene Coward Wight, WAG Curator of Inuit Art, and Eduardo Aquino, public art consultant. “We tried to have every Nunavut community represented,” explains Wight. “We thought it should showcase a broad display of techniques and styles in sculpture. The chosen wall hangings represent the three main communities where textiles are created–Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung) and Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet).” The installation was overseen by WAG Chief Curator Andrew Kear, Head of Museum Services Radovan Radulovic and Preparator Serge Saurette, as well as Krista Zawadski, Government of Nunavut Curator of Inuit Art. To complement these smaller scale pieces, monumental reproductions of four Inuit prints, including works by Kenojuak Ashevak, CC, ON, RCA (1927–2013), Pudlo Pudlat (1916–1992) and Andrew Qappik, as well as three wall hangings, were created to fill the main arrival space, a rotunda with towering ceilings and curvaceous red seating. A large-scale sculptural work by artists Looty Pijamini, Greg Morgan, Leevity Paneak and Eepeebee Campbell is also currently in production.
Inaugural Cultural Repatriation Award Given
On September 20, 2017, The Field Museum of Chicago, Illinois, and the Nunatsiavut Government were presented with the inaugural Cultural Repatriation Award by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), Canada’s national Inuit representation organization.
The organizations were jointly recognized for their work between 2008 and 2011 to return the remains of 22 Inuit to the territory. The remains were stolen in the late 1920s by William Duncan Strong, an assistant curator working on behalf of the museum at the time. Strong dug up marked graves in the community of Zoar, a nowabandoned settlement located between Hopedale and Nain. The remains were kept as a part of the museum’s collection until their return to Nunatsiavut in 2011, where they were reburied. The museum covered all costs associated with the transfer. “The work to right this historical wrong was driven by the relentless efforts of the Nunatsiavut Government. This prize recognizes the partnership and cooperation that are required to bring about reconciliation,” said Natan Obed, President of ITK, in a statement. “Cultural repatriation—overcoming the legacies of misappropriation—is fundamentally about respect and moral standards. We applaud the Nunatsiavut Government and The Field Museum for serving as an example to organizations across North America and around the world.”
Inuit Art Historian Receives Trudeau Fellowship
Art historian and curator, Dr. Norman Vorano has been awarded a 2017 Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Fellowship to create the Arctic Cultural Heritage Research Network (ACHRN). The project aims to reconnect Inuit communities in the High Arctic with their cultural heritage, which is largely spread across museums in the South. Taking the form of a web-based platform, ACHRN will enable Inuit to share their cultural knowledge through a reciprocal exchange process, while also accessing global museum collections digitally in their own communities for use in educational curriculum and other cultural initiatives. We would like to congratulate Dr. Vorano, who has been a frequent contributor to and past Editorial Advisory member for the Inuit Art Quarterly.
First Steps Taken to Establish a Nunavut Heritage Centre
In early October 2017, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) announced a conditional pledge of $5 million towards the establishment of a Nunavut Heritage Centre in the province’s capital of Iqaluit. In a statement, the QIA board expressed their belief, “that it is time for Inuit [artworks], artifacts and ethnographic material to be returned to Inuit homelands,” citing that the Government of Nunavut expends over $1 million annually to cover the cost of storing and preserving more than 140,000 Inuit objects outside the territory. “Establishing a heritage centre is recognized as an urgent need,” says P.J. Akeeagok, QIA’s President. The QIA pledge requires that the project, estimated at $70–$90 million, also receives financial assistance from the territorial and federal governments, other Inuit organizations, as well as private fundraising. Nunavut remains the only province in Canada without a designated heritage facility “to house and present its history”.