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Oct 8/10 - Pt 2: Cape Dorset Prints

We're off to Nunuavut, one of the few places in Canada where the population is getting younger. But like an aging population, that too has consequences. We have a documentary about how a new generation of Inuit artists are reflecting a world of change.

Listen to Part Two: (Pop-up)

PART TWO

Cape Dorset Artists

Amidst concern about Canada's aging population, Nunavut is experiencing the opposite phenomenon. The population there is getting younger. On the flip side though that means Elders are departing, along with their knowledge, their history and their stories. Younger generations now travel more by computer than by dog-team or kayak. On top of that, the ice and permafrost are melting. And oil, gas and mineral exploration are all increasing. So the north is changing in a lot of ways.

This morning, as part of our project Shift, we have a documentary about how those changes are being reflected in the art produced in the Arctic ... particularly the iconic art of the Cape Dorset stone cut prints. The small community of Cape Dorset has produced world class artists for 50 years. They brought a raw description of the life of the Inuit, as well as the animals and sprits of the Arctic.

Now, the themes and styles are changing. And not everyone is happy about it. Peter Sheldon is a CBC reporter in Iqaluit, Nunavut. He has been documenting those changes at the West Baffin Co-op in Cape Dorset. His documentary is called, Etched in Stone. 

Link of Interest: Cape Dorset Inuit Art / THE NEW RAW Video Series


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