Founded in 1987, the Inuit Art Foundation has provided professional development and support services to Inuit artists and arts administrators for over thirty years.
The IAF’s flagship program is the Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), the only magazine devoted to Inuit and Arctic arts. As the sole magazine regularly covering current and upcoming exhibitions, interviews with important figures in the Inuit art world and critical engagement with circumpolar Indigenous art, the IAQ has long-held an important and unique place within the field of arts and culture in Canada. Each issue includes interviews, profiles and editorials on both established and emerging artists that are accessible, timely and provocative by top writers alongside previously unpublished photos and artworks. The IAQ is also an industry leader in its commitment to foregrounding writing by Inuit and other Indigenous contributors.
As a registered charitable non-profit, the IAF’s initiatives span a range of artist support initiatives and include the Igloo Tag Trademark, which protects artists from cultural appropriation and theft; the Inuit Artist Database, a first-of-its-kind biographical resource for artists to receive support in creating online CVs; and other professional development programs including scholarships and artist residency supports for Inuit artists and cultural workers.