Kenojuak Ashevak
Encyclopedia
Inuit art
Inuit art refers to artwork produced by Inuit people, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive outside Alaska...
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Life
Kenojuak Ashevak was born in an iglooIgloo
An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
in an Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
camp, Ikirasaq, at the southern coast of Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
. At three years old, she lost her father. In 1952, she had to be treated for three years for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in a hospital in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. During this time and later on many of her children and grandchildren succumbed to disease, as did her husband of 42 years.
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Career
Kenojuak Ashevak became one of the first Inuit women in Cape Dorset to begin drawing in the late 1950s. She has since created many carvings from soapstoneSoapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
and thousands of drawings, etchings, stone-cuts, and prints — all sought after by museums and collectors. She designed several drawings for Canadian stamps and coins. In 2004, she started to design the first Inuit-designed stain glass window for a chapel.
Honours
- In 1967, she was made an Officer of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and was promoted to Companion in 1982. - In 1970, Canada PostCanada PostCanada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
placed her 1960 print Enchanted Owl on a stamp to commemorate the centennial of the Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. - In 1974, she was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of ArtsRoyal Canadian Academy of ArtsThe Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...
. - In 1980, Canada Post uses her 1961 print Return of the Sun on a seventeen cent as part of its Inuit stamp series.
- In 1991, she received an honorary doctorate from Queen's UniversityQueen's UniversityQueen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
. - In 1992, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. - In 1993, Canada Post featured the 1969 drawing The Owl for its Masterpieces of Canadian Art series.
- In 1999, a famous piece of hers, the "Red Owl" was featured on the April issue of the 1999 Millennium quarterQuarter (Canadian coin)The quarter is a Canadian coin, valued at 25 cents or one-fourth of a Canadian dollar. It is a small, circular coin of silver colour. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official name for the coin is the 25-cent piece, but in practice it is simply called a quarter.-History of...
series. Her initials in InuktitutInuktitutInuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
- - appear on the left of the design. This is the first time the language appears on circulation coinage. - In 2001, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
. - In 2004, she designed the first ever Inuit-designed stain glass window for the John Bell Chapel at Appleby CollegeAppleby CollegeAppleby College is an international independent school located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1911 by John Guest, a former Headmaster of the Preparatory School at Upper Canada College...
in Oakville, OntarioOakville, OntarioOakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
. - In 2008 she received the renowned $25,000 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts from the Canada Council of the Arts.
Films
- In 1963, she was featured in the National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of CanadaThe National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
documentary Eskimo Artist: KenojuakEskimo Artist: KenojuakEskimo Artist: Kenojuak is a 1964 Canadian short documentary film about Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, directed by John Feeney. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
, directed by John FeeneyJohn FeeneyJohn Feeney was a New Zealand-born director of documentary films. He worked with the New Zealand National Film Unit, National Film Board of Canada and made films and did photography in Egypt. He was nominated for two Academy Awards.-Early life:Feeney was born in Ngaruawahia and attended at...
, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short SubjectAcademy Award for Documentary Short SubjectThis is a list of films by year that have received an Oscar together with the other nominations for best documentary short subject. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announced and presented early in the following year.-1940s:*1941...
in 1964. - 1992, archival and contemporary footage of Kenojuak is featured in MomentumMomentum (IMAX film)Momentum was the first film shot and released in the IMAX HD film format, which ran at 48 frames per second.The film was created for the Canada pavilion at Seville Expo '92....
, Canada’s film for Expo '92Seville Expo '92The Universal Exposition of Seville took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992 on La Isla de La Cartuja , Seville, Spain. The theme for the Expo was "The Age of Discovery" and over 100 countries were represented...
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See also
- List of inductees of Canada's Walk of Fame
- Notable Aboriginal people of CanadaNotable Aboriginal people of CanadaOver the course of centuries, many Aboriginal Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Aboriginal customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining Canadian culture...
External links
- Kenojuak Ashevak's Artist Profile at the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art
- Image timeline view at the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art
- Some of Kenojuak's prints appear at a Canadian government website.