Global Nunavut art sales shrinking despite GN funding

How We Dress by Shuvinai Ashoona: a new study on arts and crafts in Nunavut says new collectors of Inuit art are younger and looking for more contemporary pieces such as this print, which shows two woman, one in an amauti and one in a burka. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavut’s arts and crafts sector is “at a crossroads” and “failure to adapt to changing conditions will likely lead to further critical sales declines.”

That’s the clear message from a report called “Review of Sanaugait: A Strategy for Growth in Nunavut’s Arts and Crafts Sector,” tabled at Nunavut’s legislative Assembly June 1.

The report is critical of the Government of Nunavut’s 2007 Sanaugait strategy which is supposed to help guide the arts and crafts sector to prosperity.

In fact, wholesale Inuit art sales from 2009 to 2013 declined by 34 per cent, the report said.

The report, carried out by consulting firms Nordicity and Uqsiq Communications Inc., slams Sanaugait, a program launched by the GN’s economic development and transportation department in 2007 to grow the arts sector.

Sanaugait was supposed to help the sector “contribute at least $50 million annually to the territorial economy.”

But it’s fallen well short of that goal.

In 2013, the arts and crafts sector generated $30.3 million — a nine per cent decrease from 2009, when it contributed $33.4 million towards Nunavut’s economy.

So what’s going on? The report blames a global downturn in art sales.

Between 2007 and 2009, for example, global art sales fell by 41 per cent, itself a result of the 2008 financial crisis.

But in 2013, global art sales seemed to bounce back. Art sales in the United States, for example, enjoyed a 25 per cent spike that year.

In Nunavut, no such luck.

In fact, 16 Inuit art galleries have closed since 2012 according to the report. But these closures are just one factor contributing to a 34-per cent decline in wholesale Inuit art sales from 2009 to 2013, the report said.

Increasing trade restrictions on animal products, declining sales for carvings in remaining galleries and an upturn in direct sales through social media sites also contributed to the decline in the wholesale market.

Another factor to consider: there’s more second-hand art on the market now.

Most Inuit art collectors are over 60, the report says, and many are downsizing their homes and selling off their art collections.

“The increased supply has reportedly contributed to a decline in auction prices, which may impact prices in the primary market,” the report said.

The arts and crafts industry faces the same challenges as before the launch of Sanaugait, and some new challenges too.

“The Review’s conclusion regarding the effectiveness of the Sanaugait is not entirely positive,” the report said.

“While individual artworks may still be of quality, the external arts and crafts landscape has changed, necessitating new innovations and improvements in all facets of the sector from art production to sales, distribution and marketing in order to attract new buyers,” the report said.

The report makes many recommendations — for larger grants, for the department of economic development and transportation to improve communication and staff training for economic development officers, and for the development of an Arts Council.

From 2009 to 2013, the GN’s economic development and transportation department supported the arts and crafts sector to the tune of $2.4 million; $1.23 million was earmarked for the Arts and Crafts Development Program.