Journey North: The Inuit Art Centre Project by Stephen Borys

To commemorate the official opening of the Inuit Art Centre, now named Qaumajuq, Winnipeg Art Gallery director and CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys, set out to share the story of this extraordinary museum and building project. His book, Journey North: The Inuit Art Centre Project, traces the history of the centre beginning with the establishment of the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1912, when the foundation was laid to support a diverse and far-reaching mission that could embrace both historical and contemporary artmaking on national and international levels. By the time director Dr. Ferdinand Eckhardt arrived at the gallery in 1953, and discovered Inuit stone carving at the Hudson’s Bay Company department store located across the street from the WAG, the idea of assembling a collection to celebrate this Indigenous art form moved closer to reality. This account of the development of the Inuit Art Centre includes different historical and contemporary perspectives and voices through a compilation of texts and images. In addition to the key essay by the book’s author Stephen Borys, several writers from across the country have shared their stories about the gallery, the Inuit art collection, and the building project. In addition to the essays and the architectural renderings of the Inuit Art Centre by Michael Maltzan, the book also includes: a selection of Arctic photographs taken by Hazel Mouzon Borys and Iwan Baan, a series of construction images by Winnipeg Free Press photographers Mike Sudoma and Mike Deal, and finished building photographs by Lindsay Reid.