von Finckenstein, Maria (ed.) 2002 Nuvisavik: The place where we weave. Hull, Canadian Museum of Civilization; Montréal and Kingston; McGill-Queen’s University Press, Seattle, University of Washington Press. ix + 202 pages, biographies with photographs of artists and weavers, 51 illustrations in colour of artist’s prints and the tapestries, references, index.

Fibre weaving in the Arctic? Inuit women producing tapestries? This seemingly inconceivable activity north of the tree line is handsomely illuminated in the publication Nuvisavik: The place where we weave. The book is, in the narrowest sense, a catalogue of an exhibition of the same name showing from 21 February 2002 to 8 September 2003 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec. Nearly fifty tapestries, some never seen before in public, from the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio display the meticulous skills and creative imaginations of Pangnirtung’s weavers. The facing pages from the full-coloured illustrations follow a strict protocol that includes in order: name of the drawing artist, the tapestry artist who interprets the drawing and renders the first design of an edition, the names of the weavers who make their own successive copies of the original for that edition, then the usual specifications such as materials, size, ownership. Some tapestry pictures are shown with the drawing from which they are taken. Each illustration is accompanied by insights from the Inuit about the tapestry content. The quotations, many from July Papatsie, were gathered in conversations with Maria von Finckenstein, editor of the book and curator for contemporary Inuit art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and Deborah Hickman, who was general manager and artistic advisor to the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio. The Inuit voices heighten our appreciation of the weavings by, for example, explaining what is involved in the activity depicted or elucidating a legend. They show the depth of emotion that emerges when thinking about the land and the traditions of an ancient culture. The illustrations are preceded by a picture and biography of the artist-designer. Elsewhere in the book photographs and biographies of the tapestry weaver artists are printed. The publication covers far more than being solely an exhibition catalogue. It contains four essays that admirably delineate the evolution of the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio, stories from the people about their life, the history of South Baffin Island, and the Studio’s place in the annals of world tapestry weaving. The Forward, by Donald Stuart, reveals that weaving was first introduced to the Arctic in order to provide a new industry. He went North in 1970 as the project’s manager, choosing Pangnirtung where women are renowned embroiderers and seamstresses. Starting as fabric weavers who made utility articles such as blankets, scarves, or parka braids, and notably sashes for Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family, the Inuit weavers’ products soon became best-sellers on the southern market. An ancient craft, the weaving of functional articles is a process whereby the shuttle is thrown continuously from side to side of the warp. Tapestry weaving is a specialized form — the wefts are discontinuous, covering the warp, and enables the weaver to create textures and images. This great leap from utility weaving to high art is the story of the Pangnirtung weavers. The first essay by Maria von Finckenstein points out that the Studio follows a model unknown in the rest of the world. For centuries tapestries have been created either by an artist-weaver who makes the design and the tapestry, or by a "technician-weaver" (p. 3) who faithfully copies the cartoon (design or art work) created by an artist. Following their own traditions and taking from other cultures what is viable for their way of life, the Inuit weavers pursue neither method. The Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio buys a drawing from an artist that is then presented to the team, one of whom transforms the drawing into a woven tapestry, making her own interpretation. The team consults all the weavers, most importantly the elders, about …