N.W.T. hires new official to help artists and organizations tap into funding, grow sector

N.W.T. artists will now have a person they can talk to about developing their projects, growing their organizations, or accessing funding.

A new arts officer for the government of the Northwest Territories has been hired, to work as a link between community artists and government.

The role has been created to help artists and arts organizations apply for funding, grow their board, hold workshops or have a person they can talk to about any other challenges they're working to overcome.

The new position is a partnership with Canada Council for the Arts, which funds similar roles in Yukon and Nunavut. The council is providing $750,000 until April 2026 for the new arts officer to travel to communities, meet directly with artists and provide microgrants based on their needs.

It follows years of artists and arts advocates calling for a boost to the N.W.T. arts sector, slamming the territory for not prioritizing a local gallery, and lamenting that the other territories are further ahead.

Sarah Carr-Locke, director of culture and heritage with the territory's department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), helped create the memorandum of understanding with the Canada Council. She said that the N.W.T.'s arts sector lags behind the rest of the country. Part of that, she said, is accessing less money from the Canada Council than other jurisdictions.

In the 2022/23 fiscal year, the Canada Council provided $465,800 of funding across the North. The N.W.T. got about 20 per cent of that.

In the 2021/22 fiscal year, it was about $4.4 million across the North, with 10 per cent of that going to the N.W.T.

Carr-Locke says the new arts officer position should help arts groups be aware of available funding.

"We'll have some different modules of, you know, 'do you need a strategic plan, do you need more board development, do you need a grant writing opportunity,' and kind of tailor that to each organization," she said.

Jeremy Emerson, formerly of Western Arctic Moving Pictures (WAMP) has been named the new arts officer. A spokesperson for ECE said that he wasn't yet available to speak publicly since he's finalizing his work plan.

Carr-Locke says the new position will also help grow arts across the N.W.T. just by meeting with artists and better understanding where ECE can support them.

"Some of the smaller organizations outside of Yellowknife don't always get the same information in the same way," she said. "We really emphasized to Canada Council that this person has to travel."

The Yukon's version of the position launched on January 1, 2023. What started as a one-year pilot has been such a success that Canada Council's funding has been extended to 2026.

Tamika Knutson is the Yukon's arts officer, called the Indigenous outreach liaison. She says meeting with artists in communities has made all the difference.

"You're creating relationships with these artists and you're also building trust … I'm just trying to be an accessible person and another Indigenous artist on the other end of the email," she said.

Carr-Locke says the program in the N.W.T. is still just beginning to engage with arts groups and that more details on the position should be available in the coming weeks.