Kangiqliniq, Nunavut
Kangiqliniq is an Inuit community located on the West coast of Hudson Bay. Kangiqliniq means in Inuktitut «the bay» and Rankin Inlet is its English name : the town was named by owners of the Rankin Inlet Mine which produced nickel and copper ore there between 1957 and 1962. The mine was the more important miners’ employer in Canadian Arctic.
Kangiqliqniq is a major governmental centre in Nunavut. In the 1995 Nunavut Capital Plebiscite, Iqaluit defeated Kangiqliniq to become territorial capital of Nunavut. As of the 2006 census, the population was 2358, an increase of 8.3% from the 2001 census (Statistic Canada).
Kangiqlinirmiut (people who live in Kangiqliniq) share their artistic production between ceramics, carvings, prints, drawings, watercolours and bronze castings. Whereas sculptural and graphic arts started to develop in the 1950s, the first ceramics workshop opened in 1963 and run until 1977. The current workshop was opened in the 1990s by a new generation of artists.
Sculptors such as George Arlook, John Tiktak, Hunter Toonoo, work with steatite and serpentine (hard grey stone and black stone) as well as ivory and in ceramics; they are widely admired for his sculptural representations of the human form and face and organic shapes. Their artistic creations illustrate traditional themes in innovative ways.
Link :
http://www.rankininlethotel.com/rankin-inlet-inuit-art.htm
