All our arts and crafts carry tags certifying that they were produced by Inuit artisans residing in Nunavut, Canada. Most items are handmade in the studios of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts. Sculptures carry the official Government of Canada Igloo tag, containing the artist's name, community and other information about the item.The Igloo tag certifies that the sculpture you are purchasing is handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist.

About the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts

A new era in arts and crafts management and development in Pangnirtung began in 1991 with the opening of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts. Initially solely owned by the Uqqurmiut Inuit Artists Association, a community-based, not-for-profit business directed by an Inuit board, the Uqqurmiut Centre is now partnered by the recently formed Nunavut Development Corporation.

The Uqqurmiut Centre serves the entire arts and crafts community of Pangnirtung, with facilities and equipment for the Pangnirtung Print Shop, the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio, a retail Craft Gallery, and space for administration and board activities. The three buildings that comprise the Uqqurmiut Centre represent a significant presence for Inuit in the arts-and-crafts economy of Nunavut, while providing the community of Pangnirtung with a major share in one of the most important economic activities on Baffin Island. The buildings provide a control centre from which to operate effectively and focus arts and crafts activities.

Ultimately, the Uqqurmiut Centre is the chief vehicle through which the Uqqurmiut (the people of the leeside) carry out their mission to promote and preserve their local culture, and to foster the continued development of the artistic heritage of their community. In this way, the presence of Uqqurmiut Centre helps to preserve the fragile artistic record of the culture and traditions of the Inuit of the Cumberland Sound region.

About the Uqqurmiut Inuit Artists Association

The Uqqurmiut Inuit Artists Association was incorporated in 1988 as a fully Inuit-owned and Inuit-run organization with a clear mission
“To serve Pangnirtung artists and the community of Pangnirtung, to keep all of their arts and culture alive, and to ensure their full participation and control by creating employment and training opportunities for artists, providing a central place for the creation and marketing of art, contributing to local tourism, and providing an art archive to preserve the art for future generations.”

As a non-profit organization, the UIAA is not a business but is a major shareholder in the activities of The Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts. All in all, the UIAA is concerned with social, educational and cultural objectives, as well as economic self-sustainability.

In 1990, as a vehicle for carrying out their mission, the UIAA began construction on the buildings for Phase I of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts. These buildings have a unique northern design, situated in a cluster that resembles the traditional circular tents of old Inuit settlements and the interconnected nature of a large igloo. The buildings are located on the site where the old “weave shop“ structure was previously situated and consist of three distinct aspects: a 2100-square-foot Tapestry Studio, a 1400-square-foot Craft Gallery, and a 2300-square-foot Print Shop. The Tapestry Studio and Craft Gallery are the oldest aspects of the structure completed in 1991, with a separate Print Shop building being added as Phase II of the UIAA building plan and completed in 1995, after the original print shop burned to the ground in 1994.