Shuvinai Ashoona Wins Governor General's Award

Dorset Fine Arts is excited to share that Shuvinai Ashoona is one of the recipients of the 2024 Governor General’s Artistic Achievement Award. In celebration, DFA has released Going Between Worlds: ten editions of ten etchings, each hand-coloured by Shuvinai.

From the Canada Council for the Arts:

“For more than two decades, Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona has been changing the face of Inuit art and, more generally, that of contemporary Canadian art. […] Ashoona’s innovative drawings, many of which are ambitiously scaled, freely mix elements drawn from historic Inuit culture with contemporary references to more recent history and popular culture. […] Never content to follow rules and expectations, Ashoona’s unconventional artistic vision has successfully challenged and revolutionized how the public perceives Inuit art and contemporary Indigenous art more generally, helping to create a new space for expression and artistic freedom.”

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KAMA Winners Roundtable

From the Inuit Art Foundation:

Following Ningiukulu Teevee’s win of the 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award (KAMA), she sat down with 2021 winner Tarralik Duffy and 2019 winner Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory to discuss the impact of the award on their lives, and the lasting legacy of Kenojuak Ashevak on their careers. The conversation was moderated by Taqralik Partridge, Associate Curator, Indigenous Art - Inuit Art Focus, Art Gallery of Ontario. 

KAMA is a biennial prize that supports the practice of an Inuk artist by facilitating opportunities for artistic development and career growth. Established in 2014 by generous members of the Inuit art community, the award honours the life and work of the late Kenojuak Ashevak and her unparalleled contributions to the cultural life and arts of Inuit Nunangat and beyond. The award provides funding to artists to expand their careers and reach new audiences.

Ningiukulu Teevee Wins Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award

Ningiukulu Teevee has been named the 2023 recipient of the Kenojauk Ashevak Memorial Award by the Inuit Art Foundation.

From Inuit Art Quarterly:

“It’s unbelievable. It’s really still sinking in—I think it's going to take time,” Teevee told the IAQ just prior to the ceremony. “It’s an honour to have been chosen.”

Teevee is highly regarded as a skillful storyteller, celebrated for her playful drawings and prints that reimagine traditional stories with contemporary flair. Her work has appeared in more than 40 global exhibitions, including 10 solo shows, and has been featured in every annual Cape Dorset Print Collection since 2004. Her debut 2009 children’s book, Alego, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for children’s illustration.

“Teevee has been producing storied, thoughtful, humorous and insightful works of art for nearly two decades, and for her many contributions to the graphic arts she richly deserves this recognition,” says Dr. Igloliorte. “She is an artist-storyteller of the highest caliber whose evocative prints and drawings have the power to transport viewers to familiar spaces and scenes in the North, whether she is picturing a pot of soup bubbling on the stove, or Inuit playing traditional games in the local gym.”

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Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Museums

ᖃᓪᓗᓈᖅᑕᐃᑦ ᓯᑯᓯᓛᕐᒥᑦ Printed Textiles from Kinngait Studios, produced by the Textile Museum of Canada and West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative, has been awarded the 2021 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Museums: History Alive!

From Canada’s History:

Conceived and presented as a project that foregrounds Inuit voices, expertise, and engagement, the Textile Museum of Canada’s partnership with the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative made possible a process of collaboration with the Kinngait community, resulting in mutually beneficial research, educational programs, and an exhibition tour. Contemporary artists from Kinngait and other parts of Nunavut opened up conversations about the continued significance of these early printed fabrics and their importance in the history of Inuit cultural heritage today.

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