Program helps emerging artists market their work

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The National Aboriginal Professional Artists Training Program (NAPAT) is helping emerging First Nations artists get back to their roots while getting their art work out into the world.

Developed by the En'owkin Centre, an Indigenous post-secondary institution in Penticton, the program provides career development to professional Aboriginal artists and is one of a kind in Canada.

Launched a year ago, the first class of 10 students have just graduated with a Foundations in Indigenous Fine Arts Certificate. Application deadline for the 2003-04 session is August 22.

Admission is based solely on portfolio; post-secondary eligibility is not required. "We have found that many Aboriginal artists are barred from colleges and universities because they don't meet the Grade 12 requirement," says Anna Lizotte, student services administrator for NAPAT.

"We want to make sure they are admitted based on their experience as emerging artists."

"High academic marks don't always mean everything," adds NAPAT instructor Lee Claremont. "Here, we look at people and their potential on an individual basis."

However, the program is a good stepping stone for those who want to go on to major institutions, says Claremont, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia and also teaches university transfer and college upgrading students.

"In a larger institution you are just a number, and there's a different way of thinking," said Claremont. "We take students under our wings and prepare them for the world.

"We demand a lot of our students because we know what they'll face when they get out there."

Program assistant Tracey Jack says the program helps bring artists out of isolation and provides support for marketing their work.

"Aboriginal art is often misunderstood as something historical, something you'd see in a museum," said Jack. "We believe there is a tremendous opportunity to showcase Aboriginal art how we see them-as living arts practice.

"Our arts practice-the way we paint, sculpt or weave baskets-has been passed down for generations," Jack added. "Our creations aren't dead exhibits, they are very much alive and breathing."

Lizotte said the program's required marketing management course ensures graduates aren't taken advantage of. "We want our artists to have a very concrete foundation on how to manage and market their art work, so agents aren't taking a bigger commission than they should.

"They also learn about fee structures and how to evaluate their own work."

Jack says the mentorship students receive on issues particular to Aboriginal art marketing makes the course a truly exceptional experience. "Every band and nation has its own spiritual protocol. What artists want to share and what is deemed sacred are important questions to answer in the process of creating art work," said Jack.

"They also discuss intellectual property rights in the context of Aboriginal heritage," Jack added. "These are things they won't learn in a mainstream marketing course."

Barb Marchand, another instructor with NAPAT, said the program's emphasis on Aboriginal history and culture has an enormous effect on the artists. "It rejuvenates in yourself who you are as Native people," said Marchand. "Students have told me they got back in touch with their culture and are able to express themselves personally and politically.

"My reward is to see them grow more confident, and speak more clearly about their concerns and what's important to them through every medium available."

Both Marchand and Claremont say while the relationship with their students continues after graduation, they cherish the time they spent together.

"The staff and students share a big kitchen at the En'owkin Centre," said Claremont. "You go in there and there's steer stew on the stove or somebody's made some bannock.

"At the end of the year, we put on a huge feast for the students. It's wonderful for students from reserves because they're homesick; bu it's even more wonderful for urban Aboriginal students who don't-or never had-such experience. It gives us a real sense of community."

For more information, see http://www.enowkincentre.ca.