Introduction and Background for The Matchbox Gallery

 
The Matchbox Gallery  was created in 1987 by Jim & Sue Shirley as a cross-cultural arts workshop. The gallery serves the community in several ways. In addition to being a display and production centre, we also provide training for community artists and residents. We are located in Rankin Inlet, which is the transportation hub for the Kivalliq region; an area on the West coast of Hudson Bay. The Kivalliq is one of the three regions of Nunavut, the most recently created political jurisdiction in Canada. Rankin Inlet is a predominantly Inuit community. Inuit have lived in this area for almost 2000 years.

Our main focus for over a decade has been on the production of ceramics, and the delivery of community based programs. We are proud of our reputation as one of the few privately owned, artist-run, cross-cultural gallery/workshops of it's kind in Canada. In addition to presenting arts courses for adults from throughout the Kivalliq region, we have worked closely for over ten years with eight talented, community-based artists. Supported by experienced Inuit instructors who were participants in the original government run program, we have preserved the 40-year reputation of Rankin Inlet as the only community producing Inuit fine-arts ceramics in the world.

Along with our efforts in fine-arts ceramics, we are an important source of livelihood and training for individuals who would not ordinarily have access to these services. In addition to encouraging creative artists in all media, the Matchbox Gallery is a centre of learning, development and empowerment for a wide range of residents in our community. We have held arts classes for high school and elementary school students, people on social assistance, and evening classes for adults who have full-time day jobs. For the past six years, we have worked closely with a local organization in providing arts programs for intellectually disabled adults. The gallery has also presented innovative programming that integrates arts and academic learning.

One of our goals over the past few years has been to encourage and empower people, through the arts, to become more productive and self-sufficient members of the community. We have had outstanding success in working with residents who come from the more marginal groups within our society. The Matchbox Gallery has always provided a positive environment for all members of the community, and an opportunity for artists to meet the public and to sell their work. We are honored to be a place of social and academic learning, as well as innovation in the arts.

Some members of our team
Back Row (left to right) Pierre Aupilardjuk, Jim Shirley,Yvo Samgushak.
Front row - Lucy Sanertanut & daughter, Sue Shirley).