Art Project #3 - Elders Center in Iqaluit

So we JUST unveiled the mural that was created for the Elder's Center here in Iqaluit!!...  And I am so pleased that the response from the elders was a touching mixture of excitement and awe!  This is the third youth mural project I've organized and I am soooo proud to say that the youth involved deserve ALL the credit for the final result as I really encouraged them to fly entirely from their own (creative) wings! There were a number of youth involved, but the two most dedicated were the same youth that have been there since the first mural project in March 2012 (Anne Hellwig and Melissa Attagutsiak) and so, since they had "been through the motions" at least twice before, I wanted to give them as much freedom as possible while still offering guidance and technical help/support.. and the result is incredible!! They did an outstanding job and I am so unbelievably proud of them!  I feel like this project was the culmination of a year of working with these awesome gals... From the first project, where they had barely painted before, to this one, where they were now able to paint with confidence and give the images unique aesthetic qualities all their own.  It has been amazing to watch them grow as artists and I feel privileged to have been able to help them along the way!   

 

 

Early stages... Always the most tedious!

 

 

Budding art director Anne Hellwig (middle).

 

 

 

First day and already so much progress!

 

 

Helping hands!

 

 

Melissa Attagutsiak working on the centerpiece of the mural... One she can call her own!

 

 

 

Few sessions later... Almost there!

 

 

 

Pretttttty much done.. Proud artist looking over the finished work.

 

 

 

Now for the unveiling!  I had help from the city to put up the pieces at the Elders Center and then draped them up to make it a real surprise.

 

 

 

Ta-dah!!

 

 

Ta-dah!! (continued)

 

 

 

Eyes gazing up.  This is a few minutes after the unveiling.  Everyone was SO impressed!

 

 

Some of the elders with the artists.

 

 

The entrance is now so lively and I am so thrilled to have been able to contribute to making such an important space a little bit brighter!

 

Art Project #2 - Iqaluit Centennial Library

Wow!! After nearly five months (off and on) the Iqaluit Centennial library murals (that's right: plural!) are done!!!  There is A LOT to say about this project, but it's late and I just want to put the pictures up once and for all.  So here it is: the second youth mural project I put on with funding from Brighter Futures.  The murals were painted on massive pieces of canvas cut (as best as we could) to the odd shape of the walls.  We primed the canvas and used interior latex paint to bring life to our pencil sketches.  We then stapled these massive canvases to the walls of the library!  Not an easy task!  Worthy of mention: the mural that depicts the story of Kiviuq (i.e. the one that is not near the computers) was designed by young local jewelry artist (and now illustrator) Jesse Tungilik.  He had a very strong vision and so I let him run with his idea, providing some technical and compositional guidance along the way.  He showed so much dedication that it seemed like a no-brainer that he should get his own wall space, especially since that kind of artistic achievement really stands out in a portfolio.  The other mural, the one I focused on, with the help of 3 other youth, is based on a series of old prints that we appropriated by changing the colours and arranging them in a way that tells a story about hunting.  The names of the original artists are included in Inuktitut and English under each image.  The goal of this mural was to provide something beautiful and educational for anyone using the computers to look at as they wait for their pages to load.  The internet and computers provided by the library are an extremely popular public service and used by countless individuals, many of which are typically between 9 and sixteen years of age.  This mural gives people something interesting, culturally relevant, and informative to look at: an aesthetically pleasing combination of art, tradition and language!  It was also intended as an homage to some of the great artists of Nunavut.  Both of the murals really brighten up the library, which is one of my favourite places in Iqaluit and truly has so much to offer the community.  It seemed like the most natural thing to give back to this amazing institution!  Now onto the next mural project: Elders' Qammaq... To be completed before March: aaaaand GO!

- Pascale Arpin

N.B. I will be uploading more pictures of Jesse's mural as the lighting wasn't right at the time.  So stay tuned!

Final touches on the mural I worked on: a series of old prints, put together to tell a story about hunting.

Jesse Tungilik putting up his mural, which depicts the legend of Kivuq.

No wrinkles in the canvas... Whatsoever...

We all have our moments.

Life imitates art!  Melissa Attagutsiak standing next to the caribou she helped paint.

Mel and Jesse: teamwork!

The artist meets his creation.

More teamwork!

Still more teamwork!

Nearly done!!

The final border to staple until the mural is finally up!

Success!!!

Success! Thumbs up!

All done.

Iqaluit Centennial Library, now with mural.

Close-up of important logistical consideration: not blocking the vent!

A celebration of Inuit art!

The end!.. Until next time.

Art Project #1

There is so much to say about this project. Really, a book's worth. How do you sum up your brainchild? Even trickier, how do you sum up one of the most amazing, inspiring and fulfilling experiences of your life? That is a tough one! In sum, I wanted to put together a project that would engage youth in some sort of art-making capacity. I applied for an "end-of-the-fiscal-year-super-last-minute" grant from Brighter Futures to do a mural project with youth from Iqaluit, got the grant, and next thing I knew I had less than a month to get this project underway and completed. I started buying materials and taking care of what seemed like a million organizational details (not to mention manoeuvring around some serious bumps in the road!). On March 6th I put out a call for artists (through posters and talking to folks at the high school and the youth centre) and just as I was starting to wander into despair thinking "oh god, no one is going to volunteer!".... I received an e-mail from Anne Hellwig, a 17 year-old student at Inuksuk High School, who had seen my poster and felt interested in the project. From then on a few more people expressed interest in the project and by Monday, March 12th, I met up with three interested young ladies. I introduced myself and the project. As we started to discuss potential ideas I told them I had recently felt really inspired by the art that came out of Cape Dorset in the sixties and seventies, and showed them books of Inuit art. I didn't know if they would tell me (in a teenager kind of way) that this stuff was too "oldschool" or "traditional" but instead they were amazed by the images and felt instantly inspired. We started working on the concept right away and after some brainstorming and sketching, two of the participants (Anne and Melissa) and myself came up with an idea that we all felt really excited about! I could tell that we were all excited to get working (and the students at Inuksuk were off until Thursday) so I spent the next day running around, making what felt like a hundred phone calls and sending out a thousand emails to take care of every detail imaginable. I texted the girls Tuesday afternoon and told them that we could start painting (well, priming) right away! At this point none of us had anticipated that less than four days later we would be looking onto a 100 square feet mural. Curious to know what we came up with?? Read on!

TUESDAY EVENING (DAY 1)

Tuesday evening: prime time for priming.

Bringing together our sketches and finalizing the concept.

WEDNESDAY (DAY 2)

Wednesday morning: all primed up and ready to start drawing the basic outline.

Feeling out the flow! (The entire mural was free-handed.)

All sketched out... Let's get paintin'!

Melissa (18) and Anne (17) hard at work from day 1.

From left to right: Melissa, Anne, Dayle (14) and Rose (16).

Mel working hard and a book of art from Cape Dorset (major source of inspiration).

One stroke at a time.

Anne and Jen (11).

At the end of our first day of painting.

FRIDAY EVENING (DAY 3)

We were in the zone.. few pictures got taken.

Owls rule everything around me.

End of the day on Friday. So close to being done.

SATURDAY MORNING (DAY 4)

Mel touching up some details.

Nothing else I'd rather be doing on a Saturday morning.

Anne working away.

Melissa, Anne and myself. Words can't describe how unbelievably proud I am of these girls. They showed dedication from the start and did an absolutely amazing job.

Can't wait to work with these girls again on future mural projects!

...

The finished product!

Just a few hours after putting the finishing touches, our mural makes its first public appearance at the Hip Hop Spot fundraiser at Inuksuk High School! Can you spot me? I was a judge for the breakdance competition.

More pictures to come when the mural will be up! Stay tuned!

...

"This was an amazing experience! I was disappointed when I realized we won't be painting the next day. The time flew by while we painted, nothing has ever felt so amazing to complete and I'm proud to say I was apart of this and look forward to future projects!" - Melissa (18)