Nunavut arts org plans circumpolar workshop in Iqaluit

This purse, made of reindeer leather, is typical of the traditional Saami crafts which combine utility and beauty. (PHOTO/WIKIPEDIA COMMONS)

Saami designer Anna-Stina Svakko from Porjus in northern Sweden in her studio. Svakko will lead participants in a Dec. 1 workshop in Iqaluit where they will make a small purse from reindeer leather and sealskin. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

If you’re an Inuk artist in Nunavut, you have a chance to learn from a Saami designer next month at a workshop in Iqaluit.

The Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association is now accepting applications for the Dec. 1 workshop, which will be taught by Anna-Stina Svakko from Porjus in northern Sweden.

Workshop participants will include other circumpolar Indigenous artists who, with Svakko’s guidance, will learn to make a small Saami purse from reindeer leather and sealskin, NACA said in a recent release about the workshop.

Such purses are part of the Saami tradition of making “duodji” tools, clothing and accessories—items that are functional and useful, and often incorporate artistic elements.

Svakko, who holds a masters diploma in duodji, specializes in the design and production of traditional Saami clothing, but she also experiments with new designs and materials through her company Astu Design, whose name means “have time” in Saami.

“My roots in the Saami culture have of course influenced me strongly,” Svakko said, on her design company’s website. “Growing up in a home where crafts occupied a central place in everyday life has given me these strong ties. I have chosen to live for, with and by Saami crafts already as a young woman.”

Svakko said northern nature guides her creations: the intense summer’s bright nights give her energy for innovation, while the Arctic winter’s blue days give her “the power of my life.”

Travel, accommodation and materials for the Dec. 1 workshop will be covered by the Nunavut Department of Environment’s fishing and sealing division.

To apply, artists should send a short biography and a few images of their work to communications@nacaarts.org no later than Nov. 18.

This photo from the Facebook page of Saami designer Anna-Stina Svakko (third from left) shows her more contemporary takes on traditional Saami clothing.