Art in Kinngait

The arts and crafts section of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative (WBEC) in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) was initiated by John Houston in the late 1950s, then nurtured for over thirty years by Terrance Ryan, as an economic engine for Inuit artists.  The Co-operative has encouraged, nurtured and accommodated four generations of artists to produce prints, drawings, and sculptures for sale to a Southern market.

The Cape Dorset Print Collection produced at Kinngait Studios, the arts arm of the WBEC, has annually catalogued collections of between 30 and 60 images as well as numerous commissions and special releases every year since 1959, providing a valuable record of the changes in the community. Kinngait Studios is the longest continuously running print studio in Canada producing stone cut, intaglio, and lithography of the highest quality and printed by master printers.

For more information about the art and artists of Kinngait, see Dorset Fine Art’s Legacy Project.