The Government of Canada is investing more than $114,000 in support of Yukon’s cultural industries with a focus on bringing Yukon First Nation art to new markets.
The Northern Cultural Expressions Society (NCES), located on Seventh Avenue in Whitehorse, is set to receive funding from the federal government toward supporting the NCES’s three-year market and export readiness project. The project provides business-related training to First Nation artists and other cultures as noted on their web page.
The NCES’s project involves supporting artists' launch in domestic and international markets in addition to developing robust marketing plans. The project falls into the NCES’s repertoire of programs designed to help Indigenous artists establish a career in the arts.
The non-profit’s carving and education program supervisor, Colin Teramura, spoke to the News about the therapeutic benefits at the NCES studio work spaces he supervises. Artists come to find peace he says, but those who refine their technique can benefit from the business-related aspects of the NCES’s three-year readiness project.
Teramura said during an in-person interview that Mammoth Agency may be supporting the project’s marketing angle. This potential training toward equipping local artists with access to international markets could lead to local economic benefits back into the communities, reads a federal press release from Aug. 2.
The NCES currently offers their artists a place to sell their work at the project’s built-in retail space. Scaling-up was noted in the release as part of the readiness project’s training program.
Yukon MP Brendan Hanley announced the investment on behalf of Dan Vandal, the federal minister of Northern Affairs and minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor).
Hanley’s office released an update on Aug. 9. The update affirms local cultural industries as an economic driver of employment and retail sales, but also essential for community development and cultural preservation in the territory.
“The Yukon is home to many talented and innovative artists. To help artists build their platforms and to help enrich our territory's diverse cultural industries, we are investing in Northern Cultural Expressions Society,” Hanley said.
“NCE’s project will allow young artists to build key marketing skills, bringing their art to new markets, enhancing economic prosperity and enriching the cultural fabric of the territory.”
Vandal’s CanNor office is intended to work with northerners and Indigenous peoples, communities, businesses, organizations and other levels of government to help build diversified and dynamic economies across the North. The federal agency is allocating funds toward the NCES through its Inclusive Diversification and Economic Advancement in the North (IDEANorth) program.
“Through this project, young First Nations artists will build their careers in the arts industry, contributing to cultural tourism, retail sales, and community engagement. Their creative contributions will enrich the cultural landscape and further stimulate economic activity,” said Vandal.
The IDEANorth program invests in sector development and capacity building to help northerners benefit from the wider Canadian economy, according to the federal website. It is meant to focus on economic growth, business scale-up and infrastructure development.
Hanley notes in his Aug. 9 release that the cultural industries are a cornerstone of Yukon’s economy. With support from federal colleagues, opportunities to scale-up and support local artists may contribute to the territory’s cultural tourism offerings.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com