Inuit Art Exports from Nunavut

Global Demand Grows for Aboriginal Sculptures and Soapstone Carvings

Nov 4, 2009

Inuit art sculptures represent lucrative business opportunities for Nunavut artists and their families, provided they can master international distribution channels.

Occupying a vast area in Canada’s northern Arctic, the federal territory known as Nunavut has a small population of just over 32,000 people. Only 14 nations have a larger land mass than Nunavut.

Nunavut is home to the Inuit, a distinguished group of Canadian Aboriginal people, many of whom are highly skilled in creating unique artwork. For years, Inuit artists have developed carvings, sculptures, drawings and paintings – visual art masterpieces that capture Inuit culture and way of life for the outside world.

One of Nunavut’s larger communities, Cape Dorset on Baffin Island, has earned the nickname “Capital of Inuit Art.” Award-winning artists from Cape Dorset include master carver Ohito Ashoona, a native traditionalist who actively hunts for caribou and fishes for seals, walruses and whales. Ashoona’s love for his Inuit culture, Arctic environment and wildlife is reflected in soapstone carvings such as the swimming bear, diving whale and howling wolves.

Inuit art is becoming popular internationally, although some foreigners mistakenly refer to Inuit creations as Eskimo art. The following analysis focuses on exports of original sculptures including soapstone carvings from Nunavut cities including Iqaluit to the rest of the world.

Exported Inuit Art Sculptures For Sale

During 2008, Nunavut exported C$275,882 worth of Inuit carvings. That represents only 1.2% of total Nunavut exports, more than 70% of which were shipments of iron ore. Nunavut sculpture exports increased by over 9 times from year 2000, and have almost doubled over the past 5 years.

While $275,882 is a relatively small amount, the fact is that much more Inuit art is shipped to art dealers in southern Canadian cities who then resell to international clients. For the first 8 months of 2009, exports of Inuit sculptures were up 167% to $265,337 from the comparable period one year earlier.

Nunavut Art Sculpture Export Sales by Country

European countries bought the most exports of art sculptures from Nunavut last year.

Notably absent from the above list are sales to the United States. This suggests that resellers from Canadian jurisdictions outside Nunavut are distributing the Inuit artwork south of the border.

During the first 8 months of 2009, Nunavut did directly export $18,227 worth of Inuit carvings to California, America’s most highly populated state. Exports of artwork from Nunavut also garnered new clients in Australia ($4,165), Austria ($4,055) and Italy ($2,500).

Nunavut Art Business Opportunities

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), over one-fifth of Inuit are employed in the arts. But while the Inuit represent one of the most artistic communities in Canada, comparatively low export statistics from Nunavut seem to indicate that art dealers living elsewhere are making the most money from selling Inuit artwork internationally.

Still, entrepreneurial Inuit artists can set up their own website stores. Others may travel to art shows in foreign markets so they can showcase their artwork. Managing global distribution channels is key to success in international trade, particularly for a unique commodity export like Inuit artwork.

Inuit artists who gain control of those distribution channels will reap the greatest sales and profits.

Sources: Industry Canada's Trade Data Online, based on Statistics Canada reports as of November 4, 2009 and Canada Border Services Agency's online customs tariff manual.

The copyright of the article Inuit Art Exports from Nunavut in Emerging Business Markets is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish Inuit Art Exports from Nunavut in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.