Modern culture and crafts, folklore groups, professional art

The combination of the tundra and the coastal traditions is reflected in the work of the folk ensembles “Ergyron”, “Yynettet”, “Ergyn", “Ryrky”, and many others.

In 1968, the first professional Chukchi-Eskimo ensemble “Ergyron” (“Dawn”) was created. In 1974 it was granted state status. In August 2000, it was recognized as an especially valuable heritage object of the Chukotka autonomous area. In November 2018, “Ergyron” celebrated its 50th anniversary, and presented a new program. In May 2020, it received the title of “academic”. Its goal was to preserve and increase the vocal and choreographic heritage of the peoples of Chukotka. The ensemble is a professional group that performs and preserves the national vocal, choreographic, and applied decorative arts not only of the Chukchi and Eskimos, but also of other minorities of the Far Northeast of Russia: the Koryaks, the Chuvans, the Evens, the Aleuts and the Evenks. The ensemble’s “golden oldies” list includes numerous national songs, dances, and miniatures: “The Flight of a Seagull Against the Wind”, “Slaughtering a Deer”, “Collecting Eggs on a Rock”, as well as the ballet “The Legend of the Raven”, the opera “The Girl and Death”, the musical "The Tale of Good and Evil". In total, the ensemble's repertoire consists of more than 300 works of vocal and choreographic art. They wrote and recorded the soundtrack for the philosophical cartoon “Kutkh and the Mice”. Today, the State Chukotka-Eskimo Ensemble “Ergyron” is the only professional ensemble in Chukotka.

The ensemble “Yynettet” (“Aurora Borealis”) was created in 1968 by Klavdiya Geutval, a poetess and folklore collector famous in Chukotka.

The colorful participation of “Yynettet” in any festive event in the village of Rytkuchi, in the district, or the area, is a huge contribution to the development of national Chukotka creativity and the creativity of the peoples of the Far North in general. The members of “Yynettet” are actively involved in constant creative pursuit and development. They write their music, direct stage dance compositions, and perform throat singing.

The ensemble "Ergyn" (“Glade”) was created in 1972 based on the Center for Leisure and Folk Art in the village of Konergino, Iultinsky municipal district. The ensemble received the title of “People's Amateur Collective” in 1983 for its high professionalism and vivid choreographic performances. Their repertoire includes more than 30 song and dance performances, including Chukchi tongue twisters and ritual dance folklore. The most famous dances are “Dance with the Yarar,” “Competition,” “She-Seals,” “The Sea”, “The Raven Dance” (staged by Violetta Shitikova); “Snowbeater,” “The Shaman’s Dance,” (staged by Boris Tagrygirgin), “Dance of the Seagulls,” and “Dance of the Cheerful Girls” (Olga Geuntonau), etc.

The official birth year of the ensemble was 1976 when Klavdiya Zorina became the artistic director of the ensemble. In the same year, the ensemble received the title of “national”. The performances are based on Chukotka folklore (personal and tribal songs, dances) and the pieces of modern authors reflecting the life and work of the population, animalistic images of the sea and tundra. Currently, the ensemble's repertoire includes many songs, ritual and comic dances, tongue twisters, and sketches, over 40 in total.

The indigenous people of Chukotka are renowned bone carvers. The Uelen bone-carving workshop is famous all over the world. For many years, a large creative team worked in the workshop and its branches in the neighboring villages, immortalizing the features of the traditional art of the Chukchi and Eskimos through their products. This group consisted of dozens of local folk artists. In 2010, most of the carvers and engravers of the Uelen workshop became self-employed.

Nowadays, only five full-time masters remain in the newly created Center for the Development of Folk Crafts “Uelen Bone Carving Workshop”. Transfer of the workshop to the free market was carried out with a completely rational goal to allow the masters to plan working hours. This has great importance for folk artists, especially in spring and summer, when the men must go out to sea every day to hunt, and women collect herbs and roots in the tundra for winter. Currently, there are six registered craftsmen in Uelen and five in Lavrentiya. There are no official bone carvers in Neshkan or Inchoun.

Yet, the Database of Masters of the Chukotka autonomous area for 2013, lists 87 masters of applied decorative arts in the Chukotka district. According to the Department of Education, Culture and Sports of the area, in 2013 there were about 300 masters of folk-art crafts.

Experts have identified another issue related to the quality of modern art products. On the one hand, the geography of Chukotka's craftsmen has expanded significantly: in Anadyr, Provideniya, Egvekinot, Bilibino, and national villages. On the other hand, many artists, carvers, and engravers switched to commercial practices and reduced the quality of their products.

In recent years, arts and crafts fairs and exhibitions are regularly taking place in Anadyr. The masters collaborate with the “Eskimo Ball” souvenir hall of the “Heritage of Chukotka” Museum Center, the souvenir shop of Novomarinsky Shopping Center, and the “Kaynyran” art gallery, where their works are exhibited and sold.