[Bcma-l] [Fwd: Media Release Kamloops Art Gallery - Exhibition of Northern Treasures]

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

*MEDIA RELEASE*

For immediate release from

Kamloops Art Gallery


May 24, 2007

* *

*Northern Treasures, *

*three exhibitions of Inuit art *

* *

The Kamloops Art Gallery is proud to host its first major exhibition of 
Inuit art. *Northern Treasures* describes the three major summer 
exhibitions, which together examine distinct Inuit art forms. The 
exhibitions are on view from May 27 to September 16, 2007.

*/Nuvisavik: “The Place Where We Weave,”/** Inuit Tapestries from Arctic 
Canada *is a traveling exhibition produced by the Canadian Museum of 
Civilization (CMC) in Gatineau, Quebec. The exhibition’s presentation at 
the Kamloops Art Gallery is its only stop west of Winnipeg on a ten-city 
tour. /Nuvisavik/ has also shown at the McCord Museum in Montreal, the 
Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton.

/Nuvisavik/ brings together a collection of beautiful tapestries made by 
artists living in Pangnirtung, on Baffin Island in Nunavut. Pangnirtung 
is home to the only tapestry studio in the North. Since the 1970s, Inuit 
textile artists in this tiny community have created works in tapestry to 
celebrate the heroic lives of their ancestors. The lending institution, 
CMC, is a pioneer in the research and presentation of Inuit art, and its 
collection is one of the finest in the world.

The weaving studio in Pangnirtung was founded in 1969, as part of the 
Federal Government’s attempt to diversify the economies of newly settled 
and depressed Arctic communities. Already highly skilled at knitting and 
the sewing of furs, the women involved in the weaving studio were quick 
to master tapestry techniques, and today their tapestries are sold 
throughout Canada and around the world.

Modern Inuit remain deeply proud of their forebears, who managed to 
succeed and thrive in one of the world’s most difficult environments. 
The tapestries are an expression of this pride, depicting the Old North 
and life before settlement. As one weaver has stated: “Some people might 
think these are just wall hangings but they are a part of us, our 
ancestors, our lives.”

*/Arctic Treasures: The Mary and Glenn Martin Collection/*/ /is a 
selected overview of Inuit artworks from a local couple’s private 
collection. Twenty-six delightful prints and one outstanding beaded 
frontpiece are on display. The Martins built their superb collection of 
Inuit art over the course of five decades, working closely with some of 
the country’s most respected galleries.

The artists represented in the Martin Collection produced their work in 
Arctic communities widely known for their art production. For example, 
Pitseolak Ashoona (1904 -1983) was one of the most prolific artists from 
the Cape Dorset area. The exhibition also includes several lithographs 
by Kenojuak Ashevak (b.1927). Known as the “Visual Poet of the Arctic”, 
she is also a Companion of the Order of Canada. Pudlo Pudlat (1916 
-1992), also from Cape Dorset, lived as a nomadic hunter until the early 
1960s. Working in drawing, print, and sculpture, he often depicted 
modern realities of the North, such as airplanes and power boats. 
Elizabeth Nutaraluk Aulatjut’s dazzling beaded frontpiece, which was 
designed to be attached to an /amautik/, or baby-wearing coat, is one 
highlight of the stunning exhibition.

Dr. Glenn Martin, a retired pathologist, began collecting Inuit carvings 
in the 1950s, after seeing a show of Inuit art in Ottawa. Since then, he 
and his wife Mary have acquired many works and have become experts in 
their own right in Inuit art. /Arctic Treasures/ celebrates the 
delightful and inspirational works produced by Inuit artists, as well as 
the initiative and dedication of the Martins, who are graciously sharing 
these works with the public for the first time.

Finally, */Selected videos from Arnait Ikajurtigiit Collective, 
Igloolik, Nunavut/*/ /consists of three short contemporary videos made 
by Inuit women about life in the Arctic. Arnait Ikajurtigiit is an 
all-women video workshop based in Igloolik, Nunavut, and is sponsored by 
the world-renowned Igloolik Isuma Productions, Inc. (makers of the 
award-winning feature film /Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner/).

The goal of Arnait is to value the voices of Inuit women in debates of 
interest to all Canadians.

How does one experience the dawning of the third millennium in a small 
Inuit community that is in the midst of political and social change?

Since its beginnings in 1999, Arnait has been one of the most unique 
voices in Canadian video production. The social conditions of the 
women’s home, Igloolik, do not make ideal working conditions, and the 
sheer endurance required on the part of the women in the workshop to 
produce these video documents testifies to the importance of the project 
in their lives.

Screening continuously in the Gallery’s north corridor are: /Ningiura 
(My Grandmother)/, an experimental fiction based on authentic oral 
histories, traditional knowledge and contemporary reality of Igloolik 
today; /Piujuk & Angutautuk/, a portrait of two unique women from 
Igloolik, which features traditional songs and computer animation by 
Inuit artist Mary Kunuk; and /Anana (Mother)/, a documentary about the 
history of changes experienced by Inuit in the last 60 years, through 
the eyes of one remarkable woman, Vivi Kunuk.

All three exhibitions are sponsored by the British Columbia Lottery 
Corporation and London Drugs Limited, and the media sponsor is CBC Radio 
One.

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Please direct all media inquiries to James Gordon, Marketing and 
Communications Coordinator, Kamloops Art Gallery, (250) 377-2403, or 
jgordon@kag.bc.ca <mailto:jgordon@kag.bc.ca>