Inuit artists hold southern Qaggiq

IQALUIT — A cultural festival, Fall Qaggiq 99, is planned for Saturday and Sunday, October 30 and 31 at the Inuit Art Foundation near Ottawa. The gathering will feature song, dance, carving and sewing demonstrations at the premises of the Inuit Art Foundation at 2081 Merivale Road in Nepean.

The Inuit Art Foundation’s board, led by president Mattiusi Iyaituk and secretary-treasurer John Terriak, plan to contruct a six-foot high inuksuk to mark the birth year of Nunavut and the turning of the millennium. They will dedicate the inuksuk at a special ceremony to be held 2 p.m. on Saturday.

This year’s Qaggiq features artists from the Kitikmeot region, including Inuk Charlie from Cambridge Bay, Wayne Puqiqnaq and Charlie Okpik of Gjoa Haven, Pootoogook Ashevak, Gideon Qauqjuaq, and Leo Uttaq of Taloyoak, and Jorgan Klengenberg of Kugluktuk.

The artists also participated in a two-week long symposium at the Ottawa School of Art where they experimented with new techniques, tools and subject matter.