A new year means that it is time for our annual Small Treasures exhibition.  A perennial favorite with our extended family of collectors, this group of sculptures has been gleaned from a variety of sources, and they span a time frame from the 1950’s to the present.  Works, for the most part on an intimate scale, that evoke the memory of a time when Inuit were nomadic, carrying all of their possessions with them. There are numerous highlights to point out.  A small John Kavik figure of a mother with child, dating from the mid 1960s.  A classic Salluit figure of a woman in an amauti, her braids carefully coifed, dating from the 1950s.  A marvelous caribou, poised to challenge all comers is from the hands of Kelly Annugakuluk out of Iqaluit.  There are birds and bears, some dancing, of course.  Mother and children, and on a modern, perhaps whimsical note, a fellow with an MP3 player by Cape Dorset’s Pitseolak Osutsiaq.

Small treasures is an appropriate title for this exhibition as these beg to be picked up and handled.  Regardless of size, they are certainly to be treasured.

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