1. Cultural Industries: Arts and Crafts Nunavut Trade Show 2016
Good Morning and thank you very much for giving Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association the opportunity to speak today at this panel for Nunavut Trade show . Thank you to the BRCC for continuing to include arts and arts programming in the events they have each year. We are thrilled to be part of it and happy to collaborate all of our partners in Cultural Industries to move many projects forward to help support the artists of the territory. My Name is Rowena House and I am the Executive Director of Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association

2. What do we do?
Funded by Government of Nunavut through dept of Economic Development and Transportation to assist artists
Work with hamlets across Nunavut to find opportunities for artists to market and sell their products.
Look for and secure funding for Exhibitions.
Work with partners to advance the arts sector
NACA as we like to call ourselves is the visual arts association for the territory of Nunavut . We work with artists to help develop their skills and portfolio’s giving them opportunities to sell their work, attend exhibitions of their work in southern destinations and to take part in larger exhibitions that help develop the sector as a whole.
We also work one on one with active artists that want to learn new skills and that are looking for new direction in their art work. We are core funded by Government of Nunavut dept. of Economic development and transportation and then we secure funding from other partners to complete numerous projects each year. Each year we discuss with galleries and wholesalers as to unique opportunities and try to build on those to secure funding for artists to attend exhibitions and training.
Our main goal is to make sure that the art sector continues to grow by helping find and secure new markets and to ensure that arts and crafts traditions continue for years to come. Evolving with the changes that happen in the art world and working to ensure artists are able to continue to sell and create beautiful work.

3. How do we work with Members
Look for art projects and develop projects for hamlets
Work with economic development officers in the communities to find opportunities.
Look for and secure funding for Exhibitions.
Work with partners to advance the arts sector
So how do we work with the our members ?
Well many of our members contact us about projects that they think might be good in their region or hamlet.
Once such project that was developed with one of our hamlets support was the Murals for Youth project that took place a couple months ago in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. We worked with 3 hamlets from the region and asked them if they would like to have murals developed in their communities that reached out to the youth population to have a training opportunity for our young emerging artists to work with developed artists in making a mural that would be placed in their community and show their talents as well as home town pride.
These murals act as legacy pieces that will be around for years to come and will help beautify the community.
A lot of our members have great ideas on how to develop their talents sometimes just a chat with us or an we can work out a full plan as to how to develop that further. We are always wanting to work with the hamlets to find and develop projects to help stimulate the arts economy in their region and of course throughout the territory.
Trade shows are a great example of how we work together. Submitting applications for artist to attend trade shows in which we assist them once they arrive. We have helped many artists travel to trade shows and of course the biggest show we do is the show in Ottawa. Northern Lights. This past year we had over 70 artists attend this show and over 1/3 of those were artists from Nunavut. This show allows them to network with many galleries and wholesalers and this past year we had a conference as well so they could learn what is going on in the sector and things to watch for. These opportunities allow great ambassadors from your community to be part of a great event and to learn from their experiences in attending.

4. Crafted Show- Winnipeg Art gallery
One of the ways in which we are continuing to work in helping our artists to develop is by assisting them to attend shows like Crafted. This event held in Winnipeg
This is from the Press release from the Wag on Results of that event.
“The WAG was bustling with energy as people moved from artist to artist experiencing some of the latest handmade work from Manitoba and Nunavut,”. “An event such as CRAFTED brings people into the Gallery that might not normally come, and that is what we are all about at the WAG, making art accessible to people. Opportunities that link Canada’s North and South are at the heart of the Inuit Art Centre project, which we continue to work towards.”
This unique craft fair gave everyone that attended a great opportunity to buy local fro the upcoming holiday season . Celebrating Craft Year 2015, artists sold ceramics, jewellery, fibre, glass, wood, and more. Their combined sales are estimated to exceed $100,000
Our artists that attended did very well in Capturing $50,000 so ½ of the full amount that was estimated. This is huge for our artists indicating that there truly is a large demand for the products they are selling
Crafted Show- Winnipeg Art gallery

5. Ad for News North Northern Lights 2014
These are Some of the marketing examples that we do to help in growing the sector.
This First Promo item is for the Fashion show Gala in which we had 12 designers showcase their garments in the final Fashion show of the event at Northern Lights
The second is an ad we placed for News North to allow people to know to drop by the pavilion at Northern Lights. This ad showcased the art piece by Igah Hanniu from Clyde River.
The images are some of the great examples of the amazing images that we have available for the many promotional items we do to ensure we are promoting the industry for everyone's benefit.
Ad for News North Northern Lights 2014
Marketing Material for Northern Lights 2014

6. Marketing Material for Northern Lights 2016
This particular image and marketing material went out to ALL galleries across Canada and select Inuit art dealers in the USA and internationally. Because of this we had dealers at the event from all over Canada and the world
Northern Lights 2016 hosted over 150 booths with over 1,100 registered delegates and exhibitors. The Arts and Cultural industries was a major component of the Northern Lights Event, taking place in the foyer in front of the entrance to the Trade Show floor. This was set up this way to ensure that everyone who attended the trade show would first pass through the Arts and Cultural Pavilion. This would dramatically improve the promotion of the rich heritage of its Northern people and showcase an important sector of the northern economies, in particular, at the community level.
The focal point of the Arts and Cultural Pavilion was a stage and viewing area at the front of the room that had continuous performances and demonstrations during the trade show. On stage, throughout the event, visitors and delegates were able to see fashion shows, theatrical performances, throat singing, drum dancing and other cultural demonstrations from all regions highlighted at Northern Lights
The sales over the 3 day event totaled at $83, These figures are direct, immediate results of the sales during the actual pavilion show. The great part of the Northern Lights Trade Sow and Cultural Pavilion is that it is truly an opportunity for artists in remote parts of our country’s north to sell and promote themselves. As a result of this show, thousands of dollars of orders are made by the attendees after the show. So the economic impact is lasting and not just a one-time benefit.
Marketing Material for Northern Lights 2016

7. Up coming Projects 2016-17 Nunavut Trade show
Northern Exposure Show- Newfoundland
Monthly Newsletter distribution
Canada 150 Projects
Floe Edge Exhibition – London
Festival Iqaluit July1-July 9
Listed here are some of the projects we will be or are working on currently . Our projects can be as small as making business cards for an artists to something larger like the Northern Lights Arts Pavilion.
The Nunavut Trade show we have 5 sponsored artists from our partner kakivak and 8 artists that are local that are selling during the event and previously have made $32,000 in total for the 2 days
Floe Edge is our big project for this fiscal and we leave in just a few days to see this project open at the Canadian Embassy in London. Our curator has been working on this for the last year and we are excited to have this move into an international market and to help showcase our artists at such a wonderful venue. We are very happy to have the support we do from our funders
Canada 150 is a project that we have just confirmed some funding for and are happy to start planning the celebrations with the different Hamlets in the territory. Should be an exciting year!
These are just a snap shot of some of the projects we are working on for this upcoming fiscal. Some completed and some not.
One big change for us will be that we have started moving our Festival to different communities. The reason for this is two fold. First we have the support of the hamlet and the CEDO. This makes a huge difference when we look at doing an event. If we have support weather it is in kind or logistical it makes our job easier. This idea came for a conversation we had with the hamlet at a trade show. We have confirmed that Iqaluit is scheduled to have the festival back in 2017 for the Canada 150 celebrations. We felt it was important to celebrate that milestone in the territories capital.
The art for the New Airport is just in it’s beginning stages and we will have more info on that as the year progresses and the plan becomes more than just a plan. It is exciting to be able to work at new public art for such a space. With ED&T leading the art for airport project we are working closely with them on this.

8. Last Year our annual festival was held in Rankin Inlet and these two artists made the event one we wont forget. Jimmy is from Sankiluaq and was very happy to attend the event and get to work with other carvers that were there. Hannah was from Baker lake and did great craft products and was a pleasure to have at our events.
Festival Rankin Inlet 2015

9. Baker Lake Mural Rankin Inlet Mural
A total of 19 participants took part in the mural project. Through various concept-building and brainstorming exercises, the group came up with many great ideas and voted to follow a theme that came up throughout the
brainstorm session, namely: people doing things
The space, which is widely used by youth in the community, represented entirely white walls and practically no restrictions as to where the mural could be affixed. Thus, we encouraged the youth to give as much of the space a colorful and creative makeover. A total of 15 participants took part in the mural project. The project was a great success as it engaged youth and allowed them to gain a sense of pride in their art and to contribute directly to the beautification of a space in their community
Ultimately, beautiful unique pieces that feature aspects of Inuit culture, social life and physical activity thanks to the hard work and creativity of the youth
The creativity brought to the space has already begun to inspire both the participants and the Centre’s visitors

10. Victoria’s Biography for Northern Lights booklet
The first images are 2 of the business cards we did for artists. We can help artists throughout the territory get a set for a very reasonable price less than $50 for 250 cards. These cards help artists spread the word about their products and for follow up sales it is very important that we continue to produce these for events just to raise the awareness and for future sales
The second image is of a bio that we used for the Northern Lights booklet. The bio here is a little shorter but it is due to the publication so we made sure a great photo was attached as well.
Copies of Business cards NL 2014

11. Arviat Stone Symposium
These are some photo’s from the group we worked with in Arviat for the Stone workshop we did. Working in Granite is a very difficult stone. But the hamlet now has these beautiful pieces placed in front of their Hamlet building. Each artists got paid $1500 for their work and also had travel covered to the location and learned a new skill of working in Granite.
All artists were from the Kivalliq region and happy to produce the piece on behalf of the hamlet.

12. Sporran Project – Pangnirtung
The sporran project was held in Pangnirtung on March 21st and 22nd at the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts. The workshop hosted eight participants who live in Pangnirtung all whom were familiar with sewing and some with a Scottish connection in their family. It took place over 2 days and was led by Grant Withers and Laura MacNeil from L &M Highland in Dartmouth Nova Scotia
The hope is that this workshop will begin the initial steps in introducing and connecting Inuit designers to Scotland and bridging the European market by being able to take advantage of the Indigenous Communities Exception by allowing Nunavut harvesters to sell seal skins and seal skin products in the European market again.
Feedback from participants indicated that the workshop could have been three days instead of two to be able to have full hands on guidance to complete both of the sporran designs.
Workshops like these and the ones we host at festivals and trade shows help build artists skill sets and work on professional development allowing for growth and development in the industry
An opportunity to change for the better and grow for the future of Nunavut artists

13. QUESTIONS
Contact Info: Rowena House
Phone:
Toll free
This is photo of some of our Board and staff at our awards Ceremony in Toronto last March when we received the Prime ministers award. A great honor for the organization to be the recipient of such a wonderful honor for the hard work we do each day and event by event to further the industry
Thank you
Rowena