Nuvisavik: The Place Where We Weave

Karen Danielson, Ph.D., is a research consultant at Laurentian
University who specializes in leisure, textiles, family life, and Japan.

This book is about tapestries that have been produced for the past 30
years by a group of artists in the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio on Baffin
Island. It is an inspiring story, because these unique and well-executed
creations are produced in an environment where there is no history of
tapestry work. The artists are from families who traditionally moved
each season in order to obtain food in the harsh Arctic environment.
Resettlement at Pangnirtung was a great adjustment for them and required
the development of new ways of living. Drawing and sewing were part of
the Inuit heritage and provided a foundation for their tapestry work in
the 1970s. Since then, tapestry weaving has provided one basis for a new
lifestyle and it has also enabled them to create a record of their
traditional way of living.

Four contributors provide background information and explain the
evolution of the technical and artistic strategies that are now in
place. The editor also includes many statements by the artists. These
enable the reader to understand how the tapestries reflect their history
as well as the contemporary challenges in the Inuit way of life. Many
full-color images enable the reader to see details, including how
colored threads were combined to create shading and how the compositions
have changed as the artists have explored new techniques.

Nuvisavik should be widely read for its fine presentation of an
important part of Canadian culture. It is also recommended to anyone
involved in resettlement and community development for the example it
provides of the effective adaptation of a nonindigenous craft.