Library and Archives funds Inuit documentary projects

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Inuit Art Foundation are two of 38 organizations receiving new funding for documentary projects from Library and Archives Canada, the department announced Tuesday.  

ITK, based in Ottawa, will receive $31,733 this year to help establish a digital repository for increasing access to ITK records. ITK is the national organization working to protect and advance the rights and interests of Inuit in Canada. 

The Inuit Art Foundation, which supports Inuit and circumpolar Indigenous artists, will receive $50,000 for its Digitizing Inuit Artistic Heritage projects. This year’s funds are in addition to financial support received in 2020 and 2021 for a multi-year digitization project for the Toronto-based foundation. 

The funding for all projects has been made available through the federal Documentary Heritage Communities Program, created to help institutions sustainably preserve, promote and showcase documentary heritage. 

Library and Archives has provided $1.5 million annually since 2015 to support archives, libraries and institutions that promote awareness of local heritage organizations, preserve their collections or make them more accessible. 

The next funding cycle will launch in fall 2022.