News
Panniqtuuq Releases First Major Print Collection Since 2011 For the first time in seven years, the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts in Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), NU, launched a new print collection at the Nunavut Arts Festival on July 8, 2018, in Iqalui
This year’s offering features a variety of works by Eena Angmarlik, Tim Alivaktuk, Leetia Alivaktuk, Elisapee Ishulutaq, CM, May Lonsdale, Jolly Attagoyuk, Joel Maniapik, David Poisey, Andrew Qappik, CM, RCA, Annie Naulalik Qappik, Piona Keyuakjuk and Mathewsie Maniapik that range from vast landscapes to intimate scenes. The collection was made available for purchase in late August 2018 and was printed by Eena Angmarlik, Leetia Alivaktuk, Jolly Attagoyuk, Andrew Qappik, Annie Naulalik Qappik and Piona Keyuakjuk.
Established in the late 1960s, the Pangnirtung Print Shop released the first annual Pangnirtung Print Collection in 1973 through what is now the Arctic Co-operatives Limited. This inaugural collection was carried in fine ar t galleries across North America, with additional collections released between 1975 and 1980 as well as between 1983 and 1988. While production slowed during the late 1980s, a resurgence of printmaking in Panniqtuuq was spurred by the incorporation of the Uqqurmiut Inuit
Artists Association in 1988. The association relaunched in 1992, operating from the new Uqqurmiut Centre, and produced an annual collection until 2011.
Bart Hanna Kappianaq Awarded Large-Scale Commission in Ottawa
On July 9, 2018, in conjunction with Nunavut Day celebrations, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Geoff Regan, announced that noted Iglulik-based sculptor Bart Hanna Kappianaq has been commissioned to install a new work in Centre Block, the main building of the complex on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Nine short-listed artists were invited to submit maquettes from which a jury, comprised of the Curator of the House of Commons Johanna Mizgala, Dominion Sculptor Phil White and invited experts, selected Hanna Kappianaq’s proposal to create a high relief, sculptural tympanum. The sculpture is expected to be completed in 2019 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the creation of Nunavut. Hanna Kappianaq’s work will be exhibited in Parliament’s West Block before its final installation in the House of Commons Foyer, after the restoration of Centre Block is complete.
Jade Nasogaluak Carpenter Receives Inaugural Emerging Artist Award
Yellowknife-born, Edmonton-raised Inuvialuk artist and curator Jade Nasogaluak Carpenter was announced as the recipient of the inaugural Primary Colours/Couleurs primaires Award at a ceremony at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta this June. The award provides an exceptional emerging artist, who is Indigenous or of colour, with a monetary prize of $2,000 to support their practice.
“Jade is an outstanding figure among a new generation of talented and prolific Indigenous ar tists,” said co-director of Primary Colours/Couleurs primaires France Trépanier. “Both in their visual art practice and their writing, Jade exhibits critical insight combined with an inspired wit.” Nasogaluak Carpenter currently holds the title of Indigenous Curatorial Practicum at the Banff Centre. Based in Calgary and Banff, they are a core member of the curatorial team for the new Inuit Art Centre
at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, opening in 2020, as well as Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective. Their work spans a variety of media and is defined by a calculated use of humour to empathetically address themes of mental illness and diaspora.
Dr. Heather Igloliorte Awarded Significant Grant for Arts Leadership Project
In June 2018, Dr. Heather Igloliorte, Inuk curator, Associate Professor of Art History and Research Chair in Indigenous Art History and Community Engagement at Concordia University, was awarded a substantial Partnership Talent grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The $2.4 million grant will support Iglolior te’s proposal “The Pilimmaksarniq/ Pijariuqsarniq Project: Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership,” which aims to radically increase the Inuit presence in arts research and arts-based professional practice.
To support the project, an all-Inuit team of artists and researchers from Inuit Nunangat and beyond, as well as partner institutions—including the Inuit Art Foundation, Winnipeg Art Gallery and the National Arts Centre—have been assembled with a central goal of establishing mentorship and training opportunities, rooted in Inuit knowledge and societal values, for Inuit students. Initiatives such as knowledge workshops, innovative mentorship opportunities, integrated learning and Inuit-specific training opportunities will aid in professional skill building. “We have partnered with Inuit organizations, ar ts institutions and universities and colleges that have a lot of Inuit students and find new pathways for their success in the arts,” explains Iglolior te. “We are really growing something exciting here.”
Landmark Retrospective of Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak Mounted in Toronto
On June 13, 2018, the Art Gallery of Ontario hosted the public opening for the largest exhibition of Inuit art in the institution’s history. Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak took over the gallery’s Sam & Ayala Zacks Pavilion, highlighting the enormous artistic legacies of both Ashevak and her nephew Pitsiulak. Sketches and key art works by the artists were highlighted alongside newly commissioned works by the all-Inuit curatorial team. Opening night festivities featured the granting of the Inuit Art Foundation’s inaugural Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award to co-curator Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and the carving of a seal in the gallery’s central Walker Court.
The exhibition was organized by the AGO in partnership with Mobilizing Inuit Cultural Heritage (MICH) project, with the support of Dorset Fine Arts and led by a curatorial team composed of sculptor Koomuatuk (Kuzy) Curley, artist and writer Taqralik Partridge, photographer and curator Jocelyn Piirainen and performance artist Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, alongside the AGO’s Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art Georgiana Uhlyarik and York University professor and principle investigator of MICH Dr. Anna Hudson. The exhibition officially opened to the public on June 16 and continued until August 12, 2018.
Nunavut Arts Festival Takes Over Iqaluit
From July 4 to 9, 2018, the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association (NACA) presented the 2018 edition of the annual Nunavut Arts Festival in Iqaluit, NU. Various events and activities were programmed across the six-day festival to celebrate artmaking in Nunavut, including workshops featuring sealskin upholstery, sculptural casting, 3D modeling and leatherwork. The festival also featured an Igloo Tag Consultation event, hosted by the Inuit Art Foundation, on Saturday, July 7 at Nakasuk School.
The launch of the 2018 Pangnirtung Print Collection on Sunday and the hallmark Nunavut Day Art Fair were not-to-be-missed.
Joining in on the festivities were 14 artists from across the territory, including Josie Pitseolak, Akeego Killiktee, Mosha Arnatsiaq, Madeleine Qumautuq, Lydia Qayaq, Eena Angmarlik, Nazie Darehshoripour, Becky Okatsiak, Nooks Lindell, Ida Jane Kapakatoak, Danny Aaluk, Naomi Hikoalok, Mary Qingnaquq, Monica Ell-Kanayuk, Tania Scott, Annie Petaulassie and Peter Ragee.
Norma Dunning Wins Multiple Literary Awards
Edmonton-based Inuk writer, researcher and scholar Norma Dunning was awarded the 21st Danuta Gleed Literary Award from the Writers’ Union of Canada on June 14, 2018, for her book Annie Muktuk and Other Stories (2017), published by the University of Alberta Press. Valued at $10,000, the award is an annual accolade in memory of writer Danuta Gleed that recognizes the best first collection of short fiction by an author published in English during 2017.
“The poignant stories in this collection evoke the silent and overt desires, aspirations, successes, failures, and inner lives of its many Inuit characters, including the charismatic Annie Muktuk,” said jury members Andrew J. Borkowski, Shree Ghatage and Doretta Lah. “Dunning crafts a landscape that is at once intimate and mythically vast. Tragedy and humour intertwine in spellbinding narratives that deliver raw emotion and an acute sense of humanity.”
In early June, Dunning also received the Howard O’Hagan Award from the Writers’ Guild of Alberta for the short story “Elipsee.” The story is among 16 others included in the award-winning aforementioned book, which was also Foreward Reviews’ bronze winner for short stories. Alongside her many accolades, this summer a commissioned poem by Dunning was installed inside
the new TD Visa Infinite Credit Card Lounge in Toronto, ON’s Union Station, featuring bold white syllabics across a vivid green background.
Inuit Designers Take Centre Stage at IFWTO
From May 31 to June 3, 2018, Harbourfront Centre presented the inaugural Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWTO), which included a variety of exhibitions, lectures, showcases, panels and workshops alongside a marketplace dedicated entirely to the work of Indigenous artists, designers and entrepreneurs.
“It’s [IFWTO] a multifaceted platform that supports Indigenous ar tists in the way that we want to be supported,” explains Artistic Director and Co-Founder Sage Paul. “It really was an evolution of me working alongside many different artists and just trying to create a space that’s going to help support, benefit and foster Indigenous designers.”
Across the four-day event, numerous Inuit-led brands, hailing from Arviat, NU, to Greenland, showcased the best of their offerings. Among the designers present were Victoria Kakuktinniq of Victoria’s Arctic Fashion, who presented a collection of parkas, sealskin mittens and more that blend traditional techniques with contemporary design; Barbara Akoak of Inuk Barbie Designs, who displayed delicate copper seal earrings among other fine jewellery; and Martha Kyak, whose sealskin Sakiaguti qisik necklace was a stand out, in addition to the work of Inuk Design, Hinaani Design, Inuk 360 and Nuuk Couture, among others. Visit the IAQ online for designer interviews, profiles and more.
Kangiqliniq Adds Kivalliq Regional Visitor Centre to Its Cultural Infrastructure
The official opening of the Kivalliq Regional Visitor Centre in Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet), NU, was announced on June 16, 2018. “The Kivalliq Regional Visitor Centre will provide a vital link between outfitters, tourist establishments, guides and tourists,” noted Premier Joe Savikataaq. “The visitor centre will give those who reside in the Kivalliq an opportunity to showcase their art and culture and provide visitors with a welcoming experience.”
Constructed between 2013 and 2017 by Yellowknife- and Iqaluit-based Guy Architects, the new centre contains seven glass boxes dedicated to highlighting the artifacts and stories of the seven surrounding communities in the Kivalliq Region.
The ribbed ceiling is inspired by the skeletal structure of a whale and provides an expansive vista of Hudson Bay and the community of Kangiqliniq.
Nunavik Cultural Centre Opens in Kuujjuaraapik
The Nunavik community of Kuujjuaraapik has a vibrant new addition: a multipurpose cultural centre built to accommodate up to 300 people. Designed by Montreal-based Blouin Orzes Architectes, the 680-squarefoot Nunavik Cultural Centre will provide space for a variety of cultural programs including singing, dancing, storytelling, film, concerts, gatherings and much more for the residents of the 13 surrounding communities. The vibrant yellow landmark is located on a sand dune near the Great Whale River looking onto Kuujjuaraapik’s historic church and was developed in consultation with members of the community over a number of years. The one-and-a-half-story structure officially opened its doors in fall 2017.