Biography: Kyra Fisher

Kyra Vladykov Fisher became General Manager of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts in September 2008. She holds a master’s degree in printmaking from the University of Calgary and brings considerable northern experience to the task, having lived and worked in the arts in four Nunavut communities.

In 2006-2007, she managed the operations of the Producer (Arts) Division of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op (WBEC) in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. as Manager of the Arts Division. From 2002 to 2006, she was Community Economic Development Manager in Kimmirut, where she was responsible for the sectors of arts and crafts, tourism, small business, renewable and non-renewable resources.

In the fall of 1995, she set up the Drawing and Printmaking Program for Nunavut Arctic College in Baker Lake, initiating the first printmaking done there since the late 1980s. The result was the 1997 Baker Lake Print Collection. Fisher has also been responsible for founding several societies: the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum Society in Iqaluit, formerly known as Frobisher Bay; the Baker Lake Printmaking Society in Baker Lake; and the Quliruakut Arts & Crafts Society in Kimmirut. Her two books, Guide to Kimmirut Artists 2005–2006 and Guide to Cape Dorset Artists, have introduced those Nunavut artists and their work to many new readers. She looks forward to the challenge of bringing her artistic background and experience to the revitalization of Uqqurmiut.