The Kitikmeot region includes the art-producing settlements of Pelly Bay, Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven toward the east and Kugluktuk in the west. A distinctive regional style developed in Taloyoak, formerly known as Spence Bay, with the work of one artist: Karoo Ashevak. His expressionistic and powerful sculptures were most often made from whalebone with inlaid materials. Although stone has replaced whalebone as the favoured medium, Karoo's influence is still apparent here and in the neighbouring settlement of Gjoa Haven.

Traditionally, Pelly Bay artists were known for their exquisite miniature ivory and antler compositions. These are still found today, along with more expressionistic works. Kugluktuk, formerly known as Coppermine, is best known for very realistic depictions of traditional life.

Across the provincial border, the community of Holman is best known for printmaking, although some of the artists have worked in sculpture throughout the contemporary period. Printmaking began in the 1960s and continues to the present day.

There are eight main art-producing settlements along the coastline of the Arctic region of northern Quebec. Sculpture from this area brought the world's attention to Inuit art at the first exhibition in 1949 in Montreal, Canada. Carvings from the Ungava Penninsula are made from a variety of different local stones. These range from the richly mottled green stone found near Inukjuak to the distinctive argillite from Sanikiluaq with its striped grain in greens to blacks, to the very soft grey stone found around Puvirnituq.

Although there is a broad range of artistic styles across this large geographic area, Arctic Quebec sculpture can be characterized by its attention to detail and predominantly narrative content. Over the years, this has ranged from the early use of inlay and incised surface detail, to the juxtaposition of finished and unfinished portions of stone to indicate texture in recent carvings.

Printmaking in Arctic Quebec began in Puvirnituq in 1961, and has continued sporadically, involving artists from a number of the settlements over the years.

Of the six art-producing settlements in the Kivalliq, the most well-known are Baker Lake, Arviat and Rankin Inlet. Stone from this region varies locally. It is rarely polished although applied finishes are sometimes used to darken the stone. Sculptures from Baker Lake are generally characterized by smooth rounded forms and little intercarving or surface detail. Similarly, the artists in Arviat have evolved a very striking minimalist approach to carving which has resulted in considerable abstraction of form. Research completed for the recent exhibition, Northern Rock, has demonstrated that this is less a function of the hardness of the stone and more likely a reflection of the artists' preferences.

Repulse Bay, similar to Pelly Bay in the Kitikmeot, is known for small realistic sculptures in ivory or combinations of stone and antler. Ceramics were introduced in Rankin Inlet in the 1960s and the workshop has been revived in the 1990s.

A printing studio was established in Baker Lake in 1970. Print collections have been released annually over most of the intervening years. Wall-hangings, associated with the artists of Baker Lake, have become another important form of graphic expression throughout the region.

The Baffin Region encompasses all of Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. Arctic Bay and Clyde River are known particularly for their imaginative sculpture in whalebone found at old whaling sites. Igloolik and Hall Beach artists primarily use local stone, as do Pond Inlet artists. Pangnirtung and Broughton Island sculptors work equally in stone and whalebone and share a stylistic affinity. Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is the largest settlement. Not surprisingly, a variety of styles characterize work produced there.

Cape Dorset is the most famous of the art-producing communities in the Canadian Arctic. Sculptors fluidly manipulate the local stone, which ranges from white marble to veined serpentine in shades of green to brown.

Kimmirut is geographically close and the two settlements often share stone quarries. Works from this settlement share the highly finished detail, naturalistic subject matter and intricate carving skill which typify Cape Dorset sculpture.

The oldest and largest printmaking studio in the Arctic is located in Cape Dorset. The first collection was released in 1959 and prints have been made continuously since then. Pangnirtung began printmaking in 1973 and took a brief hiatus from 1989 to 1991. The Urqqurmiut Centre now provides the home to both the weaving and printmaking studios. Prints were made in Clyde River for a brief period of time in the early 1980s.