From the Editor
05
In June 2021 a 28-foot banner was installed on the fence of the tennis courts at McBride Park in Vancouver, BC. The image was created by frequent collaborators, artists Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Jamie Griffiths, and depicts two figures—the Queen, Elizabeth I of England (Williamson Bathory), and sixteenth-century British explorer, Captain Martin Frobisher (Griffiths)—set against the backdrop of Tasiujarjuaq, an inlet known more commonly as Frobisher Bay. The work, which graces this issue’s cover, is a searing condemnation of Frobisher, the pursuit of colonial wealth and power including its legacies and continued impacts in the North and a refusal of Inuit erasure. The explorer famously, and falsely, claimed this area as “Meta Incognita” (The Unknown Shore), the implication being this land was not previously occupied, known or claimed by Inuit.
Installed in the af fluent and largely white neighbour of Kitsilano, the image was almost immediately defaced, “by somebody who got very upset by us being very shouty about racism and white politics” explains Williamson Bathor y.¹ Notably, the park is named for former BC premier, Richard McBride, who said, “We stand for a white British Columbia, a white land and a white Empire.”² It appears that more than a centur y on, there are still those who have yet to truly reconcile with the truth of this place, its dark histor y and enduring violence.
The subtitle for this issue on Legacies, “Forging Sovereign Futures,” hints at the strength in reclaiming and revisiting overlooked histories and what these narratives might tell us about the paths ahead. This issue highlights the foundings and possible futures of the Inuit ar t industry, including the rich, early history of the Inuit-led co-operative movement, the strength of intergenerational knowledge transfer and what is lost when the distance between communities and their ar t feels insurmountable—and what becomes possible when that space is collapsed. The Por t folio for this issue brings together a few of the many stories of the ar tists instrumental in shaping new economic models for their communities with the establishment of local co-operatives, as told by their peers, colleagues and family members. Ar tistic lineages and influence are similarly explored in Naullaq Arnaquq’s “Creating From Traditions,” a personal reflection on the ways learning and creativity are woven into her family’s history, and “Between Fathers and Sons” which traces the relationships between fathers and their sons through their art by Robert Kardosh. Our final Feature by Melodie Sammurtok-Lavallée, “Blank Canvas,” asks what ar t can teach Inuit about themselves, their pasts and futures, and what is at stake when access to it is in shor t supply.
On September 8, 2021, the Inuit Ar t Foundation was thrilled to announce Tarralik Duffy as winner of the 2021 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, whose subversive and narrative-driven work you may remember from the cover of our Winter 2018 issue, Exchange.
On behalf of the team, I’d like to extend my sincere congratulations to Duffy and the three shortlisted artists Eldred Allen, Kablusiak and Couzyn van Heuvelen!
Finally, I’m deeply saddened to share news of the passing of two ar tists whose work has been featured in the IAQ numerous times over the years, graphic ar tist Pitaloosie Saila (1942–2021) and sculpture and painter Floyd Kuptana (1964–2021). On behalf of the IAF, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to their family and friends and to express our admiration for their ar tistic visions and contributions. Their legacies won’t be soon forgot ten.