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Nuvisavik: The Place Where We Weave

January 19, 2008 - April 13, 2008

AWE Gallery

Nuvisavik introduces a little known artform from Canada’s north: tapestries from Pangnirtung on Baffin Island. Although women in this small community have woven pictures in wool since 1970, this is the first exhibition dedicated exclusively to their textile art.

The first seven women trained by southern weaver Donald Stuart – all skilled seamstresses – quickly mastered the technique and modified it to reflect their own cultural values. This exhibition of tapestries, drawings and prints demonstrates how Inuit women adapted a foreign technique to their own social and artistic needs. The old European craft of Aubusson weaving allows them to interpret drawings by other artists in their community. A blend of art and cultural history, Nuvisavik demonstrates the ways in which weaving helped bridge the transition between nomadic camp life and permanent settlement.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC), which organized and circulated Nuvisavik, has played a major role in presenting Inuit art to audiences. In 1970, the CMC exhibition Sculpture Inuit was among the first major exhibitions of Inuit art to travel internationally.

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