Three years in the making, the Museum of Inuit Art (MIA) opened its doors to the public in May of  2007. MIA is Canada's only public museum south of the Arctic devoted to Inuit art. MIA's permanent display and extraordinary rotating exhibition space features an ongoing exhibition of hundreds of works of Inuit art ranging from sculpture carved from stone, antler, ivory and bone, to ceramics, prints and wall hangings.

With Inuit art achieving international recognition by the early 1980's, the need for a space dedicated to the appreciation and display of Inuit art was undeniable. David Harris, founder of the Harris Inuit Gallery and a former teacher on Baffin Island, began to work towards his vision of a dedicated public institution for Inuit art in 2004. Along with help from a group of dedicated partners, his goal was realized with the establishment of MIA within the historic Queen's Quay Terminal in 2007. "We had the momentary opportunity to take action and work diligently towards the creation of southern Canada's first public institution for Inuit art," says Harris. "As part of the city's cultural renaissance, Toronto seemed aptly suited to represent Canada's indigenous people and their art to visitors from around the world, and to add to the artistic landscape of the city."

The display showcases all regions of the Canadian Arctic, and works from major Inuit artists, past and present, are well represented. Historical artefacts provide cultural context, a backdrop against which the art can be fully appreciated while illustrating the foundation from which it has developed.

With the founding of MIA, the Harris Inuit Gallery was merged and renamed as the MIA Gallery within the new institution to continue its efforts to represent Inuit artists through their co-operatives from across the Canadian Arctic, and with all profits going to support cultural, educational and acquisition programs at the museum.

With the opening of the MIA Graphics Gallery in 2008, another milestone was reached by creating Canada's first dedicated retail space for Inuit graphics. The current collection at MIA has been anecdotally referred to as the finest permanent display of Inuit art in the world.

Plans are now underway for a second phase of expansion of MIA's physical plant and permanent collection. The display of Inuit Art at MIA aims to foster in the Canadian public a full appreciation of the depth, complexity, character and quality of Inuit art.

Gordon Fox, chairperson of the Museum of Inuit Art (MIA) at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, left, and David Harris, Director, right, in the museum's Pedestal Gallery. The museum, three years in the making, was designed by Toronto architect, Pat Hanson of gh3. The interior design evokes the ice flows, snow drifts and wind swept tundra of the Canadian Arctic, so that Inuit art can be appreciated with some sense of the environment in which it was created.