Artists in the Arctic

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Beth McKenty, 76, moved to the Canadian settlement of Iqaluit Nunavut when she was 69 years old to teach Inuit children art, as a form of therapy. Photo by Jame Partie

At an age when most people dream of retiring to sunny seashores, former Malibu resident Beth McKenty moved to the frozen gloom of the Arctic Circle instead. The ex-wife of a doctor (who says she earned a master’s in journalism “for fun” during her marriage), McKenty relocated to the Canadian settlement of Iqaluit Nunavut when she was 69 years old.

Her mission?

To teach Inuit children art, as therapy.

Now, at 76, McKenty is prolonging her current stay in Malibu in search of art therapists who might help advance her Arctic Youth Art Initiative.

Why would a grandmother give up a life of comfort to live in the freezing tundra that she describes as having “one month of good weather-August?”

“I [wanted] to fulfill a promise I made more than 40 years before, when my younger brother took his life,” McKenty explained. “I planned some portion of my life to reduce suicide.”

In 1999, after reading that the rate of suicide among the Inuit was nearly the highest in the world, McKenty told herself, “Now is the time,” then packed for the northern territories of Canada.

Local friends assisted in getting her to the settlement and later a Seattle benefactor helped her the first two years there. Then the Inuit government helped, too. Learning of her efforts, the federal government of Canada got involved, citing McKenty’s arts curriculum as a crime prevention program, and aided her efforts for three years. McKenty also relied on members of her Baha’i faith who provided her with shelter-a house built as a gift in the area four decades ago.

“It was not used very much when I arrived,” said McKenty, who occupies the house as a custodian of the Baha’i. “Otherwise, it’s $1,700 for a room for a month [in the area].”

A single bed for one night in the settlement can cost $200.

“It may not even be in your own room,” McKenty said.

At the house, McKenty offers Inuit children acrylics in primary colors of red, blue and yellow along with watercolor paper and brushes. The children are asked to remain silent for the first five minutes so they can focus on mixing colors.

Once painting begins, McKenty said, “miracles happen.”

“Children begin speaking,” she said. “Angry children gradually talk to their neighbors.”

The children, from impoverished and undereducated families, come to McKenty’s door defensive and emotionally damaged. Most endure harsh home lives with unemployed parents who are often alcoholic or drug addicted.

“Most don’t make it beyond high school,” she said.

But, McKenty said, they thrive in her program, and she firmly believes that learning art and music helps them get to graduation.

McKenty’s program, once held only on Saturday mornings, has become so popular that it’s now offered seven days a week.

“These children painting…it helps them early to get interested in a creative life,” she said.

McKenty also provides snacks to the children, many who would otherwise go hungry.

Remarking on the high crime and suicide rate of the young Inuit people, McKenty said, “It seems many more areas of help are needed for the young.”

But, she added, “There’s a tremendous energy in the youth … I feel there’s a tremendous possibility for them … These people have 8,000 years of surviving where no one could survive.”

Nunavut, where McKenty lives, is one of three territories belonging to Canada. Iqaluit, the capital, has a population of 6,000 and includes a large percentage of children.

When her 27-year old grandson, Aaron, came to visit, he saw how busy she was with the children and stayed to help.

In the beginning, McKenty said she’d look at the paintings and guess what each child had created.

“Now,” she said laughing, “I’ve learned to ask the children what they painted.”

Recently, she thought she was looking at two green igloos, but when she relayed that to the young artist, he replied, “Can’t you see it’s hidden caribou?”

For McKenty, who’s lived in Africa, Asia and America, life is one big adventure, and she attributes her passion for different cultures to her mother, who lived to be 99.

“She was an immigrant from Iceland who came to Canada to be a nurse,” McKenty said. “She got us [kids] all interested in the world.”

Teaching Inuit children has broadened McKenty’s life in ways she had never dreamed.

“I feel spoiled,” she said. “I can’t think of anyone I would change lives with.”

Beth McKenty, who will be in Malibu for several more months, can be contacted about the Arctic Youth Art Initiative by calling 310. 457.9090 or by writing to: Arctic Youth Art Initiative, P.O. Box 96, Iqaluit Nunavut, X0A 0H0 Canada.