Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ) was launched...

 

...in 1986 under the direction of an editorial advisory committee appointed by Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada

In 1989, the committee established the Inuit Art Foundation, a registered Canadian charitable organization that exists to support the professional development of Inuit artists and to promote their art. Although the magazine had originally been conceived of as a tool for public education, it has become a significant instrument of professional development for artists and an important means of promotion for their art.

A 1999 content analysis determined that IAQ was striking a 50-50 balance in its appeal to southern and northern audiences. This balance is by design not accident, as the magazine carefully treads the fine line between being a scholarly publication and a popular culture production.

IAQ is best characterized as multi-vocal, of interest to collectors, academics, dealers, artists, and anyone with an interest in Canadian Inuit art.

IAQ is funded by a mix of advertising and subscription revenues. A contribution from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada covers the shortfall between revenue and expenses.

 

1985 - 1989

1985

Founding editor, Marybelle Mitchell, who had worked for many years as head of arts and crafts development for Nunavik cooperatives, was contracted by an editorial committee struck by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to launch a newsletter dedicated to the art of Canadian Inuit. The target audience was to be primarily dealers, collectors, and academics.

The first Editorial Advisory Committee was comprised of: Michael Bell (Director, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario); Helga Goetz (Head, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada); Av Isaacs (owner, The Isaacs Gallery and The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, Toronto); Roy MacSkimming (journalist and publishing consultant, Ottawa); Terry Ryan (Managing Director, West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, Cape Dorset); Samuel Sarick (businessman and collector, Toronto), and Francis Sparshott (academic and collector, University of Toronto).

With a grant of $49,000, and working out of her home as a staff of one, Mitchell developed a 16-page newsletter, formally published under the aegis of Kinngait Press, a trade name of Dorset Fine Arts. An arrangement was made with Canadian Art Magazine, based in Toronto, to provide copy editing, design, and layout, advertising sales, and circulation management.

 

1986-87

The inaugural issue of Inuit Art Quarterly was published in April 1986. It consisted of three pages of advertising and thirteen editorial pages. Complimentary copies were mailed to 1,700 addresses.

INAC renewed its contribution at $99,000 to cover the production of four issues during the fiscal year 1986-87. This was supplemented with $21,987 recovered through advertising and subscription sales.

In March 1987, Ottawa-based Nortext Information and Design was engaged to replace the services of Canadian Art Magazine.

 

1987

The Fall issue was sent to 806 subscribers, which rose to 1,100 addresses by the end of October. Fifty-eight per cent were Canadian; 37 per cent American, and 5 per cent international.

 

1988

INAC renewed its support of $99,000 for 1987-88. Some private donations were received, along with a small bridging grant from the Government of the Northwest Territories and a donation from La Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec.

In October, IAQ joined the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association. It was distributed to selected newsstands on consignment.

 

1989

The Inuit Art Foundation (IAF) was established with a contribution from INAC of $509,000, which could be renewed annually. IAF was to provide professional development services to Inuit artists and to continue promoting their art through the publication of IAQ and by other means. An office was set up in Ottawa. Mitchell was hired as Executive Director of IAF and to continue serving as IAQ's editor.

By the Spring 1989 issue, more than 1,400 copies were mailed to North American and foreign addresses.

 

1990 - 1999

1990

A reader survey was returned by more than 12 per cent of subscribers, 75 per cent of which reported that they kept past issues permanently. Most rated editorial content and appearance as “good” to “very good.”

In May, a decision was made to bring the publishing services of IAQ in-house, with design, film, and printing to be contracted. This resulted in more control and a reduction in expenses.

 

1991

A special, combined issue was published (vol. 5, no. 4 & vol. 6, no. 1), which presented an international, multi-sector perspective on the state of the art, summarizing commercial, cultural, and academic activities worldwide.

As part of its education services to artists, IAF began sending complimentary issues of the magazine to 2,270 artists living in northern villages.

 

1992

Paid circulation remained steady at 1,600 copies; 200-300 copies of each issue sold on newsstands, and advertising sales stabilized at approximately $20,000 per issue. Production costs had decreased by 40 per cent since bringing circulation and advertising functions in-house. Increased efforts were made to include the perspectives of Inuit artists.

 

1993

Efforts to include provocative coverage of the art and, especially, commentary by Inuit artists increased. Asculpture by Akpaliapik entitled, “if you drink, you will do things you will regret” (1991), depicting a man with a bottle protruding from the top of his head, was featured on the cover of the Winter issue. Interviews with several Inuit artists were featured.

 

1994

Inuktitut photo captions were included for the first time. Although the feasibility of an Inuktitut version had been discussed for several years, it had always been rejected because of the impracticality and cost of producing a readable version of the language, which has several dialects. Feedback indicated that artists were most interested in knowing who and what was illustrated, and were indifferent to reading articles in Inuktitut. To reduce costs, artists’ issues were limited to one per household, resulting in a reduction of mailed copies from 2,270 to 1,900.

 

1995

In September, the board proposed to ask artists to pay a subsidized rate for IAQ, which they had been receiving at no cost. President Teresie Tungilik’s home community of Rankin Inlet was used as a test. A poor response resulted in abandonment of the idea.

 

1996

IAQ's 10^th anniversary was celebrated in the spring issue (vol. 11, no. 1). Although IAQ continued to serve diverse sectors, it made even greater efforts to incorporate artists’ perspectives and to focus on the work of living artists.

IAQ won the Bronze Award at the 21^st International Gallery of Superb Printing for Design, and an Honourable Mention at the National Magazine Awards for the article “The Care and Conservation of Art,” by Melanie Scott (1995, vol. 10, no. 4, [Winter]).

A grant from the Ontario Government paid for a second reader survey, which received a much higher response. Feedback indicated that IAQ was as highly valued by readers in the North as it was by readers in the South.

In an effort to highlight the contemporary living art and to provide a forum for Inuit artists, a change in format was initiated:

• “The Artists’ Speak” section evolved into “Focus On,” in which two or, even, three artists were featured in a combination of interviews, a curated selection of their work, and profiles; 
• Reviewing of public exhibitions was replaced with “Curatorial Notes.” It was hoped that “Curatorial Notes” would ensure that the rationale and findings of the research supporting exhibitions got into the literature.

To promote circulation, 10,000 subscription cards were placed in the 1997 Dorset Fine Arts calendar, with positive results.

 

1997

U.S. subscribers outnumbered Canadian for the first time: 44 per cent Canadian; 45 per cent U.S., and 10 per cent international.

An emphasis was placed on promoting and training staff in advertising. 

IAQ was promoted on the new IAF website.

 

1998

IAF conducted telephone interview surveys with Inuit artists; several were printed in subsequent issues.

“Curator’s Choice,” a new department in IAQ was added. This was to be a mini-exhibition in print, allowing curators to highlight a selection of work. Maria von Finckenstein, Curator of Contemporary Inuit art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, was, however, the only curator to take advantage of this opportunity. The column was discontinued in the Summer 2005 issue upon her retirement.

The promotion of IAQ in the Dorset Fine Arts calendar continued to bring in new subscribers.

 

2000 - present

1999-2000

“Dealer’s Choice,” a new section in IAQ, was inaugurated to give dealers the opportunity to identify emerging artists.

A decision was made to produce Inuktitut abstracts of English content to be inserted into copies sent to Inuit artists.

 

2000

The Fall issue (Vol. 15, no. 3) was redesigned to provide a more contemporary, but reader-friendly look.

 

2001

In response to complaints from international subscribers that IAQ was arriving in poor condition, poly-bags replaced paper envelopes.

 

2003

The Spring/Summer issue (vol. 18, no. 1 & 2) was delayed due to funding issues. Publishing resumed in June, but it was decided to combine the Spring and Summer issues into one edition, printed in August.

To achieve the goal of reducing production costs by $10,000 per issue, IAQ was reduced from 64 to 48 pages, beginning with the Winter 2003 issue (vol. 18, no. 4).

 

2004

A grant of $30,000 was received from the Support for Business Development for Small Magazine Publishers, a component of the Canada Magazine Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The grant was directed towards advertising, promotion, and subscription renewal projects. IAQ advertisements were placed in the Spring and Summer issues of American Indian Art, Canadian Art, and Up Here magazines.

Beginning with the special double issue, all magazines were placed inside poly-bags instead of paper envelopes. As a result, mailing damage was substantially reduced.

 

2005

“Published by the Inuit Art Foundation” was added to the cover, beginning with the Spring 2005 issue (vol. 20, no. 1). This was done to increase awareness of the Inuit Art Foundation.

The Summer 2005 issue (vol. 20, no. 2) was delayed slightly in order to include a memorial tribute to James Houston: a pull-out supplement honouring his contribution to Inuit art.

For the first time since IAQ's inception, cover and subscription rates were increased to help offset rising printing and mailing costs – from $6.95 to $7.95, which took effect for the Fall issue (vol. 20, no. 3).

 

2006

The Summer issue (vol. 21, no. 2) celebrated IAQ's 20^th anniversary, with an unsolicited content analysis by Janet Berlo, who compared the magazine with two other Indigenous art magazines: African Arts and American Indian Art Magazine. The Winter issue (vol. 21, no. 4) featured an editorial review of material published in IAQ about the positioning of Inuit and their art in public galleries.

 

2007

Another milestone for the magazine – and IAF – was reached with publication of “Sanajatsarq: Reactions, Productions, and the Transformation of the Promotional Practise,” in the Winter 2007 issue (vol. 22, no. 4), an article based on the MA thesis research of Heather Igloliorte, the first Inuk to obtain a graduate degree in art history.

 

2008

In the Spring issue (vol. 23, no. 1), “IAQ Portfolio,” a new department was introduced, replacing “Curator’s Choice.” The new department showcases work by professional artists whose work has been noted, but not yet shown in major exhibitions. The feature was launched with the work of Floyd Kuptana, a then relatively unknown artist from the Western Arctic living in Toronto.

Kenojuak Ashevak, the most celebrated Inuit artist of her generation, was featured on the cover of the Summer issue (vol. 23, no. 2), on the occasion of her acceptance of the Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts.

 

2009

Due to the worldwide recession, IAQ’s advertising revenue was significantly lower than in previous years. Subscriptions, however, remained relatively stable.

Editorial focus was on 50 years of artmaking in Cape Dorset. 

 

2011

The spring 2011 issue of Inuit Art Quarterly (vol. 26, no. 1) celebrated IAQ's 25th Anniversary. The Inuit Art Foundation held an Open House, with the
Board of Directors in attendence, to celebrate this milestone.