IBC teams up with Inuit orgs for media arts centre construction

Estimated to cost $8 to $10 million, the new media arts centre, spearheaded by the Inuit Broadcasting Corp., would provide Nunavut’s first full-scale, state-of-the-art, digital recording and production facilities. (FILE PHOTO)

The Inuit Broadcasting Corp. has created a new company to look after the building of its future Nunavut Media Arts Centre in Iqaluit.

The IBC announced Sept. 25 that it has partnered with three Inuit-owned development companies, Qikiqtaaluk Corp., NCC Properties Ltd. and Ataqtuarvik Corp., to move the project ahead.

“Sharing IBC’s vision, QC, NCC and AC have partnered together as shareholders in our new company, Sanavallianiq Limited, specially formed to complete the media arts centre construction,” said IBC chair Madeleine d’Argencourt in a Sept. 25 release.

“After many months of development, we are ecstatic to announce this dream.”

Sanavallianiq will administer the building’s direct construction costs of $5.2 million, while the IBC continues to look for another $3.1 million to finance the purchase of furniture, media equipment and other related costs, IBC said.

The remainder of the money will be raised through the Sanavallianiq Isumagijaujanut campaign, better known as “Johnny the lemming needs a new home!” campaign.

The campaign has been raising money to complete construction of the $8.3 million centre by 2015.

Contributors to this fundraising campaign include Telesat Canada, the satellite communications company, which said this past June that it would donate money to the centre’s construction expected to start up in summer 2014.

The centre will be the territory’s first full-scale, digital audio, video, recording, performance and post-production facility, housing the Inuit film and video archive.

And the IBC hopes the new facility will attract production companies and broadcasters from across the country and around the world to work with Nunavut’s talent.

The centre was previously scheduled to open in Iqaluit in 2013, when it was estimated to cost about $10 million.

Donations can be made on the campaign website.