Ottawa kicks in money for Inuit broadcasting archive

An artist’s rendering of what the new IBC building will look like. (IBC PHOTO)

Construction of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation’s new home — the Nunavut Media Arts Centre in Iqaluit — received a boost this week when the federal government handed over a new pot of money.

The Canadian government will contribute about $450,000 to the yet-to-be-built structure to help pay for the IBC’s Inuit Film and Video Archive, Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq announced in a Jan. 20 news release issued by Canadian Heritage.

“We are grateful for the support of the Government of Canada,” said Madeleine d’Argencourt, IBC chair, in the news release. “The Inuit Film and Video Archive will ensure the protection and accessibility of an irreplaceable cultural treasure of significant value to Inuit and to many others the world over.”

The arts centre, part of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association-funded development on Iqaluit’s Federal Road, will house IBC’s historic collection of films and videos compiled over its 30-year history, the release said.

“The collection records the transition from dog teams to digital phones, the division of the territories, the creation of key national Inuit organizations… and the evolution of a new political and socio-cultural environment,” said the news release.

The new facility will be a definite improvement for the IBC which has occupied the same building — constructed from 1950s military barracks, according to the IBC website — for the past 20 years.

The centre will provide Nunavut’s first full-scale digital production and live-performance studio, open to local and territorial freelancers, performers, artists and production companies working in Nunavut, the IBC website says.

“As a foundational element of our cultural infrastructure, the Nunavut Media Arts Centre will assure wider and better coverage and promotion of Nunavut artists and performers in every field, bringing the very best of Nunavut to Canada and the world,” a website description of the project says.

Heritage Minister Shelly Glover said in the release that it was an important project “because it will help preserve the Inuit story so that it can continue to be shared with all Canadians.”

IBC began an $8.3-million fundraising campaign for the arts centre in 2009 and has raised more than $6.5-million to date.

A new video broadcast on their website Jan. 20 aims to inspire generosity to raise the remaining $2 million.