Ceramic Work from Rankin Inlet

June 4 to September 3, 2006

Dr. Douglas Wright Educational Gallery

With support from BMO - Bank of Montreal, Artsvest and Rankin Inlet Economic Development

RANKIN INLET: Inuit Artists Exhibit Comes to Waterloo

WATERLOO REGION, ON, April 11, 2006: Rankin Inlet, an exhibit of ceramic works by Inuit artists, will open at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery in the Douglas R. Wright Education Gallery on Sunday, June 4 from 1:00-5:00pm. The exhibit is being produced in cooperation with The Matchbox Gallery in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.

Jim and Sue Shirley founded the Matchbox Gallery in Rankin Inlet over seventeen years ago. It began as a cross-cultural workshop that also functioned as a display, production and training centre, with an emphasis on the production of ceramics and community-based programming. The Matchbox Gallery is the only privately owned, artist-run, cross-cultural gallery/workshop of its kind in Canada; twelve artists in the community depend on the gallery as an important source of livelihood, while an additional fifteen people use the gallery as an environment in which to do their creative work.

Since its inception, the gallery has established the reputation of Rankin Inlet as the only community producing Inuit fine-arts ceramics in the world. It has significantly increased Canadian aboriginal involvement in ceramic arts. The original project, a government program that provided the foundations and inspiration for the Matchbox Gallery, ran from the early 60s to the mid-70s. Today, visitors to the Matchbox Gallery will see a wide range of artistic works in all media, all of which were done by the residents of Rankin Inlet, or by artists who have taken up temporary residence there.

The ceramics produced as a result of these programs have been featured in major exhibitions in New York, Vancouver, Seattle, Colorado, Minneapolis, Toronto and Germany, and in commercial galleries throughout Canada, Europe and the U.S. Matchbox artists have participated in hand-building demonstrations in the U.S., Canada, Iceland and Greenland.

The exhibition at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery will be a rare opportunity for the general public to explore the full range of the works produced by these incredibly talented and original artists. Ceramic works, sculptural pieces and related two- dimensional works will be presented in a dynamic and stimulating exhibition.

The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery gratefully acknowledges the support of the Bank of Montreal through the Artsvest programme for the Rankin Inlet exhibition.

For further information contact Virginia Eichhorn, Curator, virginia@canadianclayandglass.ca or 519-746-1882, #230 or Kate Holt, Marketing Manager, kate@canadianclayandglass.ca or 519-746-1882, #234. Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, 25 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON, CANADA N2L 2Y5. Hours: Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sundays 1-5pm. Website: www.canadianclayandglass.ca.

Kids Riding a Muskox - ceramic

Jack's Magic Bear - ceramic

Man With Bird on Head - ceramic mask