Tony Devlin, a Great Northern Arts Festival board member, said he was surprised by the GNWT’s recent agreement with an arts organization for a non-commercial territorial art gallery in Yellowknife.
“Inuvik does hold a special place as far as promotion of art and celebration of art in the NWT. It’s kind of one of our claims to fame,” said Devlin.
He questioned why consultation with other communities was not done before the GNWT agreed to a territorial art gallery in Yellowknife.
“This is a major territorial institution. This shouldn’t be just a group of interested folks in Yellowknife putting something together and getting it. This should be discussed at a territorial level.”
The project is being led by the NWT Art Centre Initiative, a non-profit organization.
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Devlin said he was not putting down the organization but said its board is made up of members from Yellowknife and the group has not conducted outreach with the Great Northern Arts Festival.
Going forward, he wonders how communities and artists outside of Yellowknife will be “able to play in this ballpark as well.”
“I’m not challenging Yellowknife. I’m just saying, when is there an opportunity for others to to do something?” said Devlin.
Adrian Bell, executive director of the NWT Art Centre Initiative, confirmed in an email to Cabin Radio that the organization did not consider locations outside of Yellowknife for an art gallery.
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“From the very start this project was presented to our funders as a territorial non-commercial art gallery in Yellowknife,” Bell wrote.
Agata Gutkowaska, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, told Cabin Radio the GNWT also “did not undertake a process to identify or compare potential locations for a territorial art gallery in other Northwest Territories communities” before signing the agreement with the NWT Art Centre Initiative.
The GNWT signed the memorandum of understanding she said, after being approached by the organization with a proposal for an art gallery at the former Akaitcho Hall site.
Gutkowaska said the GNWT is not currently considering locations outside of Yellowknife for another territorial art gallery but “remains supportive of initiatives that promote and celebrate arts and culture across the territory.”
She said the GNWT is involved in the NWT Art Centre Initiative’s project because its proposed location is currently under a government land reserve for use by Yellowknife Education District No 1.
“The GNWT also recognizes the value that a non-commercial art gallery could bring through expanded opportunities for northern artists, increased cultural tourism, public learning spaces, and contributions to the territorial economy,” she said.
Gutkowaska said the former Akaitcho Hall site is currently vacant and holds “significant historical importance,” which the NWT Art Centre Initiative plans to recognize with “dedicated space for learning about the history and legacy of residential schools in the Northwest Territories.”
The organization has previously held public gatherings on the history and impact of Akaitcho Hall, a residence for children who attended Sir John Franklin High School from 1958 to 1994.
While the GNWT’s agreement with the NWT Art Centre Initiative identifies the former Akaitcho Hall site as the preferred location for the art gallery, it does not commit the territory to transferring or selling the land.
Gutkowaska said the NWT Art Centre Initiative must first complete consultations, environmental assessments, surveying, rezoning, subdivision and land title work.
