Summary and photos – annual meeting

Traverse City, MI, Oct 16-18, 2009

Acknowledgements

The IAS wishes to acknowledge and thank Terry Tarnow and the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City for hosting the organization’s annual meeting. This is the second time that the Dennos and Terry have acted in this capacity and the IAS is most appreciative of this partnership.
The IAS also wishes to thank the 2009 Annual Meeting Program Co-Chairs and IAS Board Members, Ann Conway and Carolyn Drake, for a terrific job.
The IAS is likewise indebted to its superb speakers, Shelia Romalis, Lorne Balshine, and Bob O’Hara for presentations that took attendees’ understanding and appreciation of Inuit art and the Arctic to a whole new level.

Friday Evening - October 16

The annual meeting began with the annual Dorset print lottery (its 50th anniversary!!) which was complemented by the Dennos display of at least one print from each year of the collection.

Saturday - October 17

Marketplace

After opening remarks by Event Co-chair, Ann Conway, and IAS President, Gabe Rosenberg, there were a total of three spell-binding presentations which were punctuated by visits to the IAS Marketplace which featured sculpture and other Inuit artifacts from Native Art Traders, a gallery owned by IAS member Eliot Waldman.

Two Presentations by Keynote Speaker Sheila Romalis

Keynote speaker Sheila Romalis presented twice, first on “Tupilaks: East Greenland Spirit Culture” and then again on “Comparison of Greenland and Canadian and Inuit Culture.” Sheila’s life-long study of the Inuit of Greenland, their history and all aspects of their material culture, especially the tupilak, made for highly informative presentations. (Summaries of all presentation can be found by clicking on the presentation title.)

“Exploring the Land of the Inuit via Four Decades of Canoeing Arctic Rivers” by Guest Speaker Bob O’Hara

Duncan McLean of Waddington’s was unable to speak as planned and the IAS was fortunate enough to have Bob O’Hara give a candid, humorous and totally eye-opening presentation entitled "Exploring the Land of the Inuit via Four Decades of Canoeing Arctic Rivers.” It was perfect for arm-chair explorers and highly motivating for those who want to experience genuine out-door living in the Arctic. Bob has truly seen and done it all.

IAS Annual Board Meeting

The IAS Board had its annual meeting in the late afternoon and new officers were elected, most notably Lane Phillips, a current board member, as President and Janet Beylin, also a current board member, as Vice President. Ann Conway and Claude Weil remained as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Gabe Rosenberg retired after a two year term as President.

Dinner at Top of the Park

The highlight of the evening was the annual organization dinner held at the Top of the Park at the Park Place Hotel. The environment could not have been better from the views of Grand Traverse Bay at sunset to the beautiful ambience of the candlelit dining room to the great company of other collectors. It was great re-connecting with old friends and making new ones as well.

Sunday - October 18

“Shamanism in Inuit Art” by Guest Speaker Lorne Balshine

Guest speaker Lorne Balshine, world-class collector and President of the Arctic Art Museum Society, started the day off with his presentation, “Shamanism in Inuit Art”. The role of the shaman is ubiquitous in Inuit culture and Lorne, through slides of both sculpture and prints, brought this individual to life. Everyone developed a deeper understanding of how one became a shaman, how a shaman connected himself with the spirit world and why shaman were frequently depicted as bound or as a skeleton while in a trance.

Screening of the Film “Palo’s Wedding”

This presentation and, of course, another visit to the IAS Marketplace, was followed by the film “Palo’s Wedding” which was accompanied by valuable insights from Sheila Romalis. Better than any other document on film, “Palo” shows all aspects of the lives of Inuit Greenlanders prior to the arrival of Christianity in Greenland. (For those interested in learning more about the Inuit of Greenland, see Rudy Brueggmann’s Recommended Greenland Film, Book and Multimedia Guide.)

The meeting concluded with remarks by out-going President Gabe Rosenberg. Everyone reluctantly said goodbye, but with great anticipation for next year’s annual meeting.