Private money helps western Nunavut hamlet build cultural centre

Kugluktuk’s $2.7 million Ulu Centre, funded mostly by a donation from BHP Billiton, will open in March 2014. (PHOTO COURTESY HAMLET OF KUGLUKTUK)

Kugluktuk has added a new structure to its landscape that will serve as the hamlet’s centre for local art, culture and tourism development.

Exterior work on the Ulu Centre, a $2.7-million complex, finished this month.

The building will open by March 2014, once interior work is done.

“It’s the start of what we hope will become a strong tourist industry,” said Don LeBlanc, senior administrative officer for the hamlet.

Designed in the shape of an ulu, the 355-square-metre building will feature two sections, LeBlanc said.

The ulu’s “handle” will house two floors of boardrooms and offices, and a retail store offering the work of local artists.

The adjoining “blade” section of the building, a semi-circular structure with a sloped roof, will house a large display area to showcase the work of local artists, as well as Inuit cultural artifacts.

LeBlanc said the centre will become a focal point for development of tourism, culture, and business, and a starting point for visitors to the Kugluk territorial park, some 13 kilometres southwest of the hamlet.

“We are concentrating on developing three sectors — mining, tourism and culture,” LeBlanc said.

The building complements the hamlet’s arena and community centre next door, which houses the community’s recreational facilities, LeBlanc said.

Construction of the complex was made possible in large part by BHP Billiton, who covered 70 per cent of project costs last year, according to the hamlet.

The mining giant then owned the Ekati diamond mine, some 400 kilometres southeast of the community. BHP has since sold the mine to Dominion Diamond Corp.

The Government of Nunavut and CanNor covered the balance of the cost.

“We are pleased with the design and purpose of the building and look forward to the opportunities that will come because of this centre,” hamlet mayor Ryan Nivingalok said in a recent news release.

The idea and design for the complex came from Ernie Bernhardt, who served as mayor of the hamlet between 2009 and 2011, LeBlanc said.

“It was something he always wanted and envisioned,” the SAO said, recalling that Bernhardt “came in one morning with a scrap piece of paper with this idea.”

“He thought of flying over Kugluktuk, and seeing something like that,” said LeBlanc, which “visitors would clearly be able to identify as an ulu.”

The final design went to Livingstone Architects, and construction began in September.

Plans call for the building to be completed in February 2014, LeBlanc said, with a “grand opening and dedication” slated for March 1.