Arts festival hosts Nunavut’s top crafts people

Sculptor Lydia Qayaq of Clyde River at the 2012 Nunavut Arts Festival. She returned to Iqaluit to demonstrate her work at this year’s edition of the event. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NACA)

Some of territory’s best craftspeople are visiting Iqaluit July 5 to July 9 for the 14th annual Nunavut Arts Festival.

More than 20 artists specialized in a broad range of crafts, including carving, sewing and weaving, metal work and jewelry-making, to name a few, arrived from communities throughout he territory and Nunavik to demonstrate their work and share their expertise. All events take place at the cadet hall.

Highlights for art lovers at this year’s edition include an art fair and sealskin sale on July 6, and a closing exhibition on Nunavut Day, July 9, put on by the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, which runs the festival.

Art lovers get a rare chance to see shows featuring the territory’s most talented Inuit crafts people, which in Iqaluit are usually limited to the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum.

“Other than the museum, art shows in Iqaluit are pretty few and far between, so we’re excited to be putting on the kind of closing exhibition,” said Pascale Arpin, a member of the association.

Sculptors from Nunavut and Nunavik alike will give outdoor carving demonstrations on most days.

The festival is also a chance for the artists to advance their work with galleries and agencies, and find new markets. A professional fair on July 8 will open such doors to aspiring and established craftspeople. Social media workshops also offer tips on how to advance creative work online.

“The biggest goal is to give the artists a chance to interact and collaborate in a professional setting,” Arpin said “For some, it’s introducing them to more professional standards and giving them a bit of a taste of the arts sector as a whole.”

This year’s fair, which opened July 2, offered arts workshops for children and youth up to July 4.

A last creative workshop, on sealskin flower-making, takes place throughout the day on July 5, targeted for teens and adults, Arpin said. A children and family art activity that afternoon, for all ages, will teach the basics of print-making and stencilling.

Artists workshops are free of charge. NACA’s closing exhibit, 4:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 9, will also offer works for sale.

For more details on the festival, including schedule and artists, see the association’s website.