A Brief History
The Inuit Artists' College was established in 1991, as a non-degree granting institution, delivering education and development programs to Inuit artists.
In the early days, the college organized workshops and seminars for artists in Ottawa. These three-week sessions focussed on marketing and promotion, safety issues, and the history of Inuit art, as well as including studio time at the Ottawa School of Art. Responding to requests, the college also delivered workshops in northern communities.
Using available funding for human resources development, the college ran a three to six-month Cultural Industries Training Program (CITP) for Inuit living in Ontario.
Terminating after 12 years, CITP has been replaced with the Cultural Industries Certificate Program (CICP) aimed at northern cultural workers.
The college also developed an innovative body of educational materials for widespread distribution to Inuit artists, including instructional videos, workbooks, posters, and a series of comic books. These materials address issues such as safety issues, copyright concerns, grants, and small business management.
Building on these efforts, the college has turned to the Internet to ensure that current information on specific matters of interest is available to Inuit artists wherever they live.
The National Inuit Artists Centre (NIAC) contains information on quarrying, tools, marketing, health and safety, and other issues.
Artist education is also provided through web-based Inuit Art Histories, which do more than make up for the lack of art schools and galleries in arctic communities.
1991 - 1999
1991
The Inuit Artists’ College held its’ first Artists’ Session at the Ottawa School of Art, a three-week program combining studio work and business of art seminars. Taught by Ron Senungetuk, the session gave artists an opportunity to meet and learn from each other, and to connect with mainstream art education and support services.
1992
Joseph Suqslak and David Terriak were awarded funds to enable them to attend a three-week stone carving session at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Centre in the marble district of Vermont.
In response to a request from the Lake Harbour Carver’s Association, the college sponsored a two-week workshop held in Ottawa to allow artists to meet with a professional quarrier and to examine equipment that might be suitable in northern quarries.
The college sent 10 library boxes (“resource centres”), which contained donated art books and “how-to” videos produced by the Inuit Art Foundation to northern communities.
1993
The Artists’ Supplement, a newsletter that contained information for artists on such issues as copyright, health measures, and how to apply for a Canada Council grant, and was mailed along with the 1990 Spring issue of Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ) to Inuit artists, was replaced with The Adventures of Sananguaqatiit (your carving buddy), a series of comics. The first in the series dealt with health issues and was mailed to artists along with a disposable paper mask donated by 3M, and a Zip-loc bag in which to store the mask.
William Nochasok of Hopedale, Kellypalik Qimirpik of Cape Dorset, and Eyesiak Padluk of Kimmirut were sponsored to attend workshops at the Vermont Carving Studio. The college also covered the cost for Leah Pootoogook of Pond Inlet to attend a 10-week residency at the Banff Centre for Fine Arts.
A grant of $2,400 was given to the Labrador Artists’ Association to pay for two longliners to retrieve 14,000 pounds of stone from up the coast.
1994
In February, the college organized its first intercultural workshop: Beyond Boundaries, organized in collaboration with the Ottawa School of Art.
Bart Hanna of Igloolik, Charlie Kogvik of Baker Lake, and John Terriak of Nain were selected to attend the Vermont Carving Studio session. They were hired by the studio to teach a weekend session for 14 non-Inuit artists on the basic techniques of working with soapstone.
Taking advantage of the fact that a number of women artists were in Ottawa for the October opening of the Cape Dorset show, Isumavut, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the college organized a two-week workshop at the Ottawa School of Art. Four Cape Dorset women were joined by two graphic artists from Pangnirtung. They experimented with new techniques, including dry-point etching, low-relief clay sculpting, and casting, and met with the Canada Council to discuss ways in which programs could be made more accessible to Inuit artists.
Also that year, IAF board member, Mattiusi Iyaituk, was invited by the Baker Lake Artists’ Association to deliver a workshop on tools and safety. The college raised money for Iyaituk’s travel costs to Baker Lake, as well as for supplies.
1995
Mattiusi Iyaituk, Okpik Pitseolak, and Uriash Puqiqnak attended the three-week carving session at the Vermont Carving Studio in May.
Dr. Dorothy Stillwell and IAF’s long-time President, Virginia J. Watt, established a fund, administered through the Ottawa Carleton Community Foundation, to encourage Inuit to pursue studies in Inuit art and culture.
The first session of the Cultural Industries Training Program (CITP) was held in Ottawa from September to December. The program was designed to encourage Inuit to become involved in the cultural industries. The program included classroom instruction and a three-week work placement.
The college received $20,000 from the Canadian Aboriginal Economic Strategy (CAEDS) to produce a marketing module, entitled Artist’s Handbook.
A double issue of The Adventures of Sananguaqatiit, an Artists’ Handbook, and an audio-cassette on the business of art were produced and sent to artists. This package was later complemented by the Artists’ Workbook, which provided a guide to the basic concepts of small-business management.
1996
The college organized a Pan-Arctic Women’s Workshop at the Ottawa School of Art, which included sessions in various media and on the business of art.
The second session of CITP took place from September 1996 to February 1997. A retail marketing component was added to the program. In collaboration with the Algonquin College’s Museum Technology program, it also included a hands-on exhibition project. Students received certificates from Algonquin for successful completion of the course.
The college awarded the Gjoa Haven Artists’ Association a grant of $1,000 towards the cost of building a building in which to store stone and tools at the quarry.
1997
The Canadian Arctic Multimedia Information Kit (CAMIK) was developed as an educational resource for school boards, teachers, art collectors, curators, and researchers. Revenue from the sale of the kits was reinvested into IAF programs to assist artists. CAMIK, made available in 1998, was approved as resource material for Ontario curriculum in 1999.
A third session of CITP took place from September 1997 to March 1998.
In October, 17 women from across the North gathered at the Ottawa School of Art for studio sessions and an opportunity to exchange information and artmaking techniques.
Jessica Tomic, a CITP graduate enrolled in an art history and anthropology course at Carleton University in Ottawa, was the first recipient of the Virginia J. Watt award.
The Inukjuak Artists’ Association received a $2,000 from the college to purchase canvas and plywood for a tent in which women could work on various sewing projects; the Gjoa Haven Artists Association was given a $2,000 grant to cover the costs of transporting the tool shed to the quarry site, and Cape Dorset received funds to purchase tools for a five-week outdoor carving session with older volunteers to guide younger carvers.
1998
In May, Jessica Tomic received a second Virginia J. Watt award to support her studies at Carleton University.
The fourth session of CITP was held from September 2008 to March 1999.
Nunavik Carvers’ Symposium, a ten-day professional development opportunity for seven Nunavik carvers, was held at the Ottawa School of Art in September. The session concluded with Qaggiq ‘98, a public event at the offices of the foundation.
The college gave Rankin Inlet artists $2,000 to cover the costs of a quarrying expedition, which resulted in 2,000 pounds of stone. The artists’ association in Pangnirtung received $2,000 for a quarrying trip, which resulted in approximately 2,000 pounds of stone, and the Coral Harbour Pujuut Carvers’ Society received a $2,000 grant to help purchase a building for carvers.
1999
The college awarded the Akulivik Artists’ Association $2,000 to purchase quarrying tools to improve the efficiency and safety of quarrying techniques in their community. A group of artists in Inukjuak also received $2,000 to construct a shed at their quarry site.
Six artists from Kitikmeot participated in a symposium organized by the college, held at the Ottawa School of Art.
A fifth session of CITP took place from October 1999 to April 2000.
2000 - present
2000
Jessic Tomic, now in her final year of studies in Art History at Carleton University, was presented with a third Virginia J. Watt Award.
IAF staff were invited to present information about health and safety, record-keeping, and business practices for self-employed artists to participants in the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association’s Business of Art symposium in Iqaluit.
The college held its sixth CITP session from September 2000 to March 2001.
2001
Six artists from the Western Arctic attended a two-week workshop, organized by the college and held in Ottawa and Toronto. Guided by Bill Nasogaluak, the participants attended seminars, toured public and commercial galleries, and worked together at the Ottawa School of Art.
The college awarded the Taloyoak Carver’s Association $5,000 to purchase a quarrying drill, and the Clyde River Carver’s Committee received $5,000 to purchase carvingstone from Kimmirut.
In November, the college organized a printmaking workshop for three Nunavik artists at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative.
A seventh CITP session took place from October 2001 to March 2002.
2002
The college awarded a one-time special grant of $5,000 to the newly formed Association for Aboriginal Artists of Newfoundland and Labrador to assist with start-up costs; Avataq Cultural Institute received $2,000 for a throatsinging symposium held in Puvirnituq in the fall, and the Akulivik Carver’s Committee and the Baker Lake Carver’s Society each received $2,000 for quarrying activities.
The college received funding from the Government of Nunavut to deliver a quarrying workshop in Clyde River. The funding was used to cover travel costs of geologist Will Kelly who provided artists in the community with instruction on how to open and maintain a quarry.
At the request of the Indian and Inuit Art Centre and the Circumpolar Liaison Directorate of Indian & Northern Affairs, IAF President Mattiusi Iyaituk, Executive Director Marybelle Mitchell, and program coordinator Henry Kudluk travelled to Tyumen, Siberia, to deliver a three-day workshop to artists and art administrators.
The college held its eighth session of CITP from September 2002 to March 2003.
2003
The college awarded the carvers association in Sanikiluaq, $2,000 to quarry soapstone before snow buried their site.
In March, the college organized the High Arctic Carvers’ Symposium, a two-week professional development workshop in Ottawa. Eight Inuit artists from communities in the High Arctic participated in seminars and utilized studio time at the Ottawa School of Art.
The college held its ninth session of CITP from September 2003 to March 2004.
2004 - 2005
In March, the college received a special grant of approximately $10,000 from Indian & Northern Affairs to purchase power tools and accessories for the Puvirnituq Power Tools Carving Workshop, a community initiative.
2005
In April, in conjunction with INAC, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (Canada), and the Canadian International Development Agency, the college arranged for 10 visiting interns and artists from communities in Siberia to participate in a two-week marketing workshop entitled the Business of Art.
The college celebrated CITP’s 10th anniversary in September. Changes to the program included the addition of courses on Art History, Art Practice, and The Sociology of Inuit Art.
2006
In January, with financial assistance from INAC, the college organized a meeting of northern cultural workers and national funding organizations with programs specific to aboriginal peoples. Topics included the need for funding for artist training and development; capacity building for Inuit art service organizations at community and regional levels; problems of stone supply materials; copyright issues, and government assistance to artists.
The college conducted a telephone survey with nearly 100 artists in northern communities. The results, published in the Spring 2007 issue of IAQ, indicated that the greatest need was for materials. Eighty-two per cent of respondents said they would welcome more training and development opportunities. Ninety per cent of carvers said they wear safety gear when working, but only 68 per cent wear masks.
The eleventh and final session of CITP was held from September to October. Due to changes in the administration of training funds for Indigenous people living in Ottawa, the program was shortened from six months to three months, focussing on skills development and cultural training. Further funding constraints led to a termination of CITP.
Heather Igloliorte, who was pursuing a PhD in Art History at Carleton University in Ottawa, was awarded the Virginia J. Watt award.
2007
Sananguaqatiit, a character used in The Adventures of Sananguaqatiit, a comic book series published between 1992-96, was revived for use in a series of educational posters dealing with such issues as résumé writing, identifying at work, carving safety, and decibel levels—a hazard for carvers using power tools.
The Inuit Art Foundation received a donation of $6,000 from Ontario-based arts group Arctic Quest. Canadian artist Doris McCarthy, who spent part of her career in the North, donated a painting to be auctioned by Arctic Quest, specifying that the revenue be used to help artists acquire materials. As a result of the auction, the college was able to award the communities of Taloyoak and Arviat $3,000 each.
CITP was replaced by the first Cultural Industries Certificate Program (CICP). The condensed, 10-day program was designed to meet participants’ goals of setting up a jewellery and printmaking studio in Inukjuak, and to better understand the art marketing system. Participants met key players in the Inuit art world, including dealers, curators, academics, practising artists, and marketing agents in Ottawa and Montreal.
2008
The college awarded Aivilik Arts Society of Repulse Bay $2,500 to purchase a gas powered, 14-inch saw in order to enable carvers to quarry a supply of soapstone.
In April, the second session of CICP was held in Ottawa and Toronto. Four cultural workers from Baker Lake and Pangnirtung participated in the 10-day session, which provided them with an overview of the marketing and promotion system for Inuit art.
A third session of CICP, which was tailored to meet the specific needs of Government of Nunavut cultural workers, took place in November.
2009
The college received seven applications for the Virginia J. Watt award—from Iqaluit, Ottawa, and Toronto. Raigelee Alorut, a third-year student in Aboriginal Studies at the University of Toronto, and Lindsey Moorhouse, who was enrolled in a one-year Aboriginal Training Program in Museum Studies at the Canadian Museum of Civilization were awarded $1,000 each.
To ensure that updated information on specific matters of interest is available to Inuit artists wherever they live, the National Inuit Artists Centre (NIAC) was established as an online information centre for Inuit artists throughout the Canadian Arctic.