West Baffin Cooperative turns 65
West Baffin Cooperative
Nunavut’s West Baffin Cooperative will celebrate its 65th anniversary in 2024.
Canada’s oldest Indigenous-owned and Inuit-led arts organization will hold exhibitions and events around the world to mark the occasion.
The first of more than a dozen events will be a partnership with Canada Goose in Miami, featuring the work of Kinngait Studios artist Saimaiyu Akesuk. Other events will include an exhibition of work by Shuvinai Ashoona at The Perimeter in London, UK in January 2024. Also in January, the national touring exhibition Kenojuak Ashevak: Life and Legacy will open at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
“Our strength lies with the successive generations of committed artists, dedicated community members and trusted partners who continually shape this organization,” said West Baffin Cooperative President Pauloosie Kowmageak in a news release.
Alison Boyce
The West Baffin Cooperative was founded in 1959 and has supported hundreds of artists with sales and exhibitions of their work across Canada and internationally. In addition to its Kinngait location, the West Baffin Cooperative also has an office in Toronto.
Ten per cent of the Kinngait population of 1,400 people are professional artists. Almost all of the adults are shareholders in the organization, which also owns a restaurant, a local grocery and hardware store and rental properties.
Source: West Baffin Cooperative
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