A series of online Inuit-led workshops that started earlier this month is to help people feel less isolated and help artists get more exposure. The workshops, called De-ICE-olation, are a project of Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership, in collaboration with the Inuit Art Foundation.
Heather Igloliorte, director of Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council seven-year partnership grant, said the idea came about after the COVID-19 pandemic made them delay a number of travel-related plans they had made for artists, such as conferences and exhibitions.
“We had this money set aside for travel that wasn’t being used, so I thought maybe there’s a way to help out artists while also helping the Inuit community feel some togetherness,” Igloliorte told SaltWire Network.
They contacted some artists to see if they would be interested in running the online sessions and put out a call for others, and it went from there, Igloliorte said.
One of those artists is Wabush-based glass etcher and painter Raeann Brown, owner of Inuky Glass Art. She sat in on another session to see what it was all about and was thrilled with what she saw.
“It was nice to interact with people outside of my own house, to connect,” she said. “It was a great atmosphere, very calming. So, I decided to do my own.”
Brown said it was a good opportunity for her as a small business owner to meet other artists and to show her work to a larger audience. She said it’s a tough time for small business owners, so a project like this can help them in several ways.
“I was really happy to see something like this. We’re trying to find ways to connect and share, especially people with small businesses and entrepreneurs. I have a hard time right now just to be seen. I think it’s important to support Indigenous artists and local businesses. Something like this is great support right now.
Mike Massie, an Inuk mixed-media artist from Labrador who lives in Kippens, is leading a session on May 12 and said the biggest reason he wanted to get involved was to help people deal with the isolation brought on by the pandemic.
He said for himself and a lot of artists, isolation isn’t anything new. Many spend a lot of time alone working on their art, but not everyone is used to that.
“I have things to keep me busy. I’m OK with being isolated. But a lot of people don’t have hobbies. Many people are trying to find things to do, trying to kill time. Even if they don’t want to try it, just sit and watch a video for an hour and maybe sometime down the road they might want to try it out. The whole thing is just to keep helping people get through this. Let everybody know things are OK still.”
Igloliorte said they are still looking for more artists, and anyone interested can contact them through their website or through their Facebook page. A full schedule of upcoming sessions is also available on the website.
Evan Careen is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering Labrador
