This paper outlines the experience of Inuit art exhibitions abroad and examines the ways in which the Canadian state crafted and framed those exhibitions throughout the Cold War. The involvement of the Canadian state in the development and promotion of Inuit art dates back to the early years of the Cold War. The practice of presenting foreign dignitaries with gifts of Inuit art projects is the subtlest manner of projecting Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and has become almost part of Canadian diplomatic protocol. As a result Canada’s image in the world is decidedly linked with the Arctic and the Inuit people. The body of Inuit art that has developed over the last fifty years, and that has been projected both at home and abroad, is an essential aspect of Canada’s national identity, and a symbolic demonstration of lived sovereignty in the Arctic.

Dr. Patrick Lennox recently held the J.L. Granatstein Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary. He writes on a range of issues related to Canadian and American defence and foreign policy, as well as maritime security and strategy. He is co-editor of An Independent Foreign Policy for Canada? Challenges and Choices for the Future (2008), and author of At Home and Abroad: the Canada-U.S. Relationship and Canada’s Place in the World (2009).

Patrick Lennox's profile page