Nunavut Development Corporation - Sales Division

07/09/2019

Happy Nunavut Day to all, but especially to our Northern colleagues and the artists & craftspeople we represent. We hear the weather is nice in Iqaluit and everyone is celebrating outdoors! We wish the same in every community!

Dancing bear by Markoosie Papigatok, from Cape Dorset / Kinngait

06/21/2019

Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day! We feel privileged to represent Inuit art and to work with so many great colleagues up North. We are also grateful for the continued support from our gallery and retail clients who work tirelessly to bring awareness to the audience at large.
Elisapee Ishulutaq's stencil print "Inuit", from the 1998 Pangnirtung Print Collection.

02/16/2019

There's always something new! This week, we processed a dozen boxes of new carvings from Cape Dorset. We always get excited when we receive new works of art - who doesn't? The artists are running out of stone to use, so we're seeing some fantastic small pieces and white marble sculptures. The artists usually don't favour working in marble as they're extremely hard, eat through the tools and take more skill & time. We certainly appreciate them even more for those reasons. Happy weekend, everyone!

02/14/2019

Here are some great examples of Sedna (Sanna in Inuktitut), the vengeful sea goddess, from various Cape Dorset (Kinngait in Inuktitut) artists. There are a few different versions about how she came to be, but in most of them her fingers are chopped off, from which the sea mammals (seal, walrus, whales, etc) were created. A shaman must go into the sea to wash and comb her hair to appease her, if the hunters are to have successful harvests.

02/11/2019

They said Spring is coming earlier this year... We'll believe it when we see it for ourselves. Until then there is more refreshing cold air and snow to be enjoyed! Sealskin mittens from Arviat, Nunavut

02/09/2019

We have one other carving that shows an example of the traditional Inuit tattoos. A soapstone carving by Jaco Ishulutaq, from Pangnirtung (Pangniqtuuq in Inuktitut), Nunavut. The facial tattoos were usually a girl's first tattoos, done on the forehead, cheeks and/or chin.

02/08/2019

Damien Iqualla created this piece with dolomite stone and inlayed copper, depicting traditional tattoos. The tradition of tattooing had almost disappeared in the late 1800's, but have been revitalized for a few decades now. Traditionally, each tattoo had a meaning; an accomplishment in sewing and coming of age, for example. It has evolved over time, but the tattoos unmistakably represent Inuit pride. Here, the tattoos are not symmetrical: As Damien explains, maybe they are not the arms of one person. From Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

02/07/2019

Are you an Inuit Jewellery, Footwear or Accessory Designer? V.A.F is looking to collaborate with a select few designers for Paris Fashion Week.

If you want to see your designs alongside V.A.F on the Paris runway we would love to hear from you! We want to ensure that all of our models are showcasing Inuit made art from head to toe.

Contact [email protected] for more details and to apply.

01/16/2019

12/17/2018

Going down the list of communities we represent, next on the list is Cape Dorset, perhaps now the most recognized Northern community for its amazing arts scene. Joanasie Manning is inspired by Osuitok Ipeelee, his grandfather and an amazing artist, and likes to carve wildlife. He is particularly renowned and loved for his owl carvings.

12/14/2018

We have many favourites in our showroom, which we hope to share with you all, and today's favourite is this Mother & Child carving by Sam Sevoga from Baker Lake. We love the simplicity of the shapes and lines, and every tool mark left by the artist.

12/12/2018

Mother & Child as a theme has a strong representation in the Inuit art world, and Baker Lake is no exception. This piece by Thomas Sevoga has a great energy about it - the child is poking around from the mother's back to get a better look at what's happening, and the mother is about to get up from the ground for something.

12/10/2018

Also from Arviat are these fun antler figures by Thomas Nibgoarsi. Like many artists who work with natural materials like stone, bone and antler, Thomas's drum dancers show an excellent use of the natural shape of the material.

12/08/2018

George Arlook's work stands apart from his fellow Arviat artists' style. His unique play of positive and negative spaces in unmistakably his, and he prefers to put a semi-polished finish on his sculptures. He currently resides in Winnipeg.

12/06/2018

The word 'local' has evolved over the years, as the world becomes smaller and smaller; but not so much in the communities of Nunavut. In the context of art, each community in the Territory tend to exhibit a particular style or trait. The artistic representations also illustrate the culture unique to a community - such as ways of hunting, different shapes of tools, the local wildlife which influences the way of life. There are always exceptions, and just like the rest of the world Nunavummiut are also influenced by the rest of the world, but the idea of local still retains its true sense of the word.

Billy Kriterdliluk's Mother & Child is a typical example of the abstract style from Arviat, the southernmost community on the Nunavut mainland.

11/22/2018

If you are in Canada, watch out for the full moon tonight. November's full moon is called Beaver Moon, also called Frost Moon and Mourning Moon. "Spirit Moon" by Germaine Arnaktauyok, available in limited edition lithographs and as reproduction greeting cards.

11/21/2018

Two dominating techniques we see in the wall hangings of Nunavut are applique and Embroidery. Following Baker Lake pieces are excellent examples. Please take a look at individual images for the artist credits.