Inuit artifacts to be put on display in Winnipeg Art Gallery

After decades of being hidden away in a storage room in the Northwest Territories, more than 8,000 Inuit artifacts will soon be put on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

The artifacts are being moved from Yellowknife's Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre to Winnipeg, through a loan agreement with the Government of Nunavut.

The WAG has the largest public collection of Inuit art in the world. It's planning on displaying the artifacts as part of the Inuit Art Centre, which was announced in November.

• Manitoba announces $15 for Inuit Art Centre at Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Nunavut'sart collection heading to the Winnipeg Art Gallery

When Nunavut was founded in 1999, it was decided that the Northwest Territories would divide its extensive collection of archives and artifacts in two.

Pieces from the Eastern Arctic were given to Nunavut, however, the territory doesn't have an appropriate facility to house its share.

The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife agreed in 2002 to store the complete collectionfor approximately $1 million a yearuntil Nunavut was able to build its own facility.

However,more than a decade later, Nunavut still lacks a climate controlled facility to store the artifacts.

• Nunavut still not ready to take Inuit artifacts stored in Yellowknife

In 2006, the Government of Nunavut, alongside Nunavut land claims corporationNunavut Tunngavik Inc., announced plans to build a $55million heritage centre in Iqaluit, where the materials could be stored. However, the centre still hasn't been built.

Inuit objects from theNunavutcollection have not been included in any new exhibits at the Prince of Wales Centre since the territories split apart in 1999.