2/ It was enlightening experience for me as Canadian. We consider selves northern nation, but few of us go north - not only because it’s sunnier in Florida.pic.twitter.com/gCccUGQ1Y8
Show this thread
-
11/There is a housing emergency in Nunavut. Many of the homes I visited were run-down and crowded. Building costs are hefty because everything needs to be shipped in. Cape Dorset’s waiting list for social housing is 3 yrs long — relatively short, compared to other hamlets.
Show this thread
12/The town is haunted by Ed Horne, a convicted pedophile who taught here for 3 years starting 1978 & sexually assaulted 100 boys, by one estimate. It’s not hard to understand why locals distrust the education system. Of 30 kids who start kindergarten only 7 finish high school.
-
-
13/Hamlet councillor Chris Pudlat told me while art had helped some in the town, it could not fill an existential crisis. What he said stuck in my head till this day.
Show this thread -
14/ "My grandparents were born in igloos or skin tents on the land, literally,” said Pudlat. "They had a role towards the wellbeing of the camp or family. They had a sense of purpose in life. That was taken away. They were just waiting for a hand-out from the government."
Show this thread -
15/There are some locals who have managed to bridge both worlds and fashion a life as a modern Inuk. Quvianaqtuk Pudlat is one of them. His name translates to “happy or joyful” in Inuktitut.pic.twitter.com/5wpOGTE43O
Show this thread -
16/ I met him on second trip there in January. He started drawing about three years ago, after an injury made construction work too painful. Like every single other artist there, he’s had no formal training. He’s just learned by doing it.
Show this thread -
17/He draws animals he’s seen while hunting. Like most Inuit, being “on the land” isn’t just recreation for Quvi, it’s what makes him Inuit. He lived nomadically traveling by dog sled for first years of his life, before moving to town for schooling.
Show this thread -
18/ When I came back in June, he took me out ice fishing one night. We set out by snow mobile at 8 pm, when the tide was low. The clouds were reflected in turquoise pools of water on the ice, making it feel like we were flying through the sky.pic.twitter.com/MzwqCdRVKZ
Show this thread -
19/Most artists told me they dreamed of this — making enough money through their art to buy a snow mobile or boat. But the costs are steep. A snowmobile costs $14,000Cdn, and gas for one day of boating is $100. Few artists make that kind of money.
Show this thread -
20/One government report said the majority make only $2750 Cdn a year. Quvi was making more, but still, he said, “it's not really making a living.” He wants to go back to construction and do art on the side.pic.twitter.com/JMlv8In5F7
Show this thread -
21/At the end of my stay, I was left with the inverse question: Not why art had not raised the town’s prospects, but how artists managed to produce such spectacular work here. Check out the latest prints from Cape Dorset, released last weekend:http://www.dorsetfinearts.com/2019-annual-print-collection …
Show this thread -
22/Thanks for following this long thread. And please check out my story and the stunning photos by
@SergeyPonomarev here:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/19/world/canada/canada-indigenous-art.html …Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.