Foreign Affairs committee  There's already set in place a tag called the Igloo Tag, which authenticates Inuit art made by Inuit. Also, the Government of Nunavut is currently developing a tag called the Nunavut brand. It's a tag that would be on all pieces of art and it would be registered online. Therefore

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't think there's really the infrastructure to do that in a mass sense. One of the biggest issues is, for example, sealskin garments. There are lots of ties and vests and things like that. There's a huge demand for them. But, honestly speaking, the artists can't keep up with

Foreign Affairs committee  No, there are no standards set as far as that goes. It's up to the artists.

Foreign Affairs committee  Certainly as an organization we are currently only getting approximately $30,000 a year for the international marketing of art. There definitely are programs out there and applications for them go out, and whether or not they get approved, there is still not a lot put out there—n

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't know if that's really going to affect the arts industry that much. Like you said, a lot of the resources they use for their art include quarrying for stone and that kind of stuff for the carvings and the sculptures. I guess one thing would be sealskin. A lot of sealskin i

Foreign Affairs committee  For the most part, yes. They're mostly in abundance, yes.

Foreign Affairs committee  In Nunavut?

Foreign Affairs committee  Supposedly, there are over 3,000. There are about 700 artists that we have registered as members. We consider them to be active artists, full time, and art is their main source of income.

Foreign Affairs committee  They say it's over 3,000. They say most everyone is an artist in some sense.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, it's probably over 10%.

Foreign Affairs committee  As tourism is becoming a stronger and stronger industry in Nunavut, it definitely opens many doors for a lot more sales in Inuit art, particularly in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay, the hubs of Nunavut. A lot of sales are happening in the lobbies of the hotels, and in r

Foreign Affairs committee  Thanks, Chris. As Chris stated earlier, I'm the executive assistant for Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, and also in charge of developing projects. I'm going to speak to the status of the economy of Nunavut in relation to the arts. With a population of about 30,000—appro