This is the first in a series of blog posts about the recent Kinship Communities exhibition curated for the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery’s Helen Christou Gallery. Each post provides additional background information on the communities represented in the exhibition and some of the artwork included.
Qamani’tuaq, also known as Baker Lake, Nunavut, has a rich history of Inuit drawings, prints, sculptures, and other forms of art. In the 1950s, the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources (renamed the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the late 1960s) began to establish arts and crafts projects in the Arctic communities that had been formed as a result of Inuit relocation and organization policies. The federal government’s motivation was largely economic; they wanted to encourage self-sufficiency among these communities, and to signify the Canadian presence and sovereignty in the Arctic, despite the disruption relocations posed to Inuit ways of life. Qamani’tuaq was one such community and the Baker Lake, later Sanavik, Co-operative, was established for artists to create drawings, prints, and sculptures to sell to the southern market.
Installation view, Kinship Communities (February 5 - August 27, 2021), Helen Christou Gallery.
During the 1960s, the success of the local arts industry was highly dependent upon the knowledge and competency of the government Arts & Crafts Officer. Artists in Qamani’tuaq often received conflicting information on what would sell better in the southern market, shaping, and, in some cases, restricting, artistic expression. As a result, a distinct aesthetic style can be seen in Qamani’tuaq art. Prints from Qamani’tuaq were often made from stonecuts combined with stencil, allowing for the use of many colours, as seen in some of the prints included in this exhibition, such as Martha Ittuluka’naaq’s The Good Life (1970) and William Noah’s Muskox Grazing on Green Grass (1975). The bold images, like those seen in Drum Dance (1974) by Myra Kukiiyaut, are often inspired from imagination and rich oral tradition, as well as the shapes used in sewn appliqué work.
Installation view, Kinship Communities (February 5 - August 27, 2021), Helen Christou Gallery.
The community of Qamani’tuaq has seen, and continues to see, a number of great printmakers, drawers, sculptors, weavers, and makers of many other art forms. The Oonark family, headed by community matriarch Jessie Oonark, was particularly prolific and her work, Sisters (1973), is featured in this exhibition. Her son William Noah, and daughter-in-law, Martha Noah, often worked together as a drawing/printmaking duo, as they did with the selected work in this exhibition. Marion Tuu’luq, another of the Qamani’tuaq artists represented in the exhibition with her print Woman (1979),was married to a cousin of Oonark, and she was mother-in-law to two of Oonark’s children. While the other two Qamani’tuaq artists featured in this exhibition, Martha Ittuluka’naaq and Myra Kukiiyaut do not have any marital or blood relation to the Oonark family, the kinship within the Qamani’tuaq artist community connects them to the other artists featured. They all created art together.
Jessie Oonark, Sisters, 1973, ink (stonecut) on paper. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of Dr. Margaret “Marmie” Perkins Hess, 2017.
Arguably the most well-known artist from Qamani’tuaq, Jessie Oonark was born in Back River, NU, roughly 330 km north of Qamani’tuaq, in 1906. Oonark and her family were members of the Utkusiksalingmiut and lived a nomadic lifestyle. Married according to Inuit tradition when she was fourteen years old, she had many children with her husband before being widowed in her late 40s. Shortly after, Oonark and her two unmarried children were evacuated to Qamani’tuaq after a period of starvation due to changing caribou migration patterns and food shortages in the 1950s. Once in Qamani’tuaq, Oonark was encouraged to pursue drawing and other graphic art forms, Oonark was given studio space along with a small salary – one of the only Inuit artists to receive such support – to continue her art. Oonark encouraged many in her family and community members to pursue artistic endeavours, including her son William Noah and his wife, Martha Noah.
When I was choosing works to include in this exhibition, I had a number of Oonark’s works flagged. Ultimately, I went with Sisters (1973) because not only did it fit with my overarching theme of kinship so wonderfully, I just love the image. Two happy, smiling sisters, perhaps even inspired by Oonark’s children. This print reminds me of my family and the bond I share with my own sister. With this work, Oonark recognized the generational nature of kinship and the importance of family connections.
Marion Tuu’luq was born at Innituuq camp, near the Chantrey Inlet, NU in 1910. Tuu’luq married her second husband, artist Luke Anguhadluq, who was a cousin of Jessie Oonark, and they lived nomadically for most of their lives. Facing starvation in the late 1950s, the family moved to Qamani’tuaq. Tuu’luq began her artistic pursuits, building on the sewing skills she learned from other women as a child, as her mother passed away before her first birthday.
I chose Woman (1979) for this exhibition to emphasize the connection between Inuit artists, particularly female Inuit artists. Whether they created art out of necessity
Marion Tuu'luq, Woman, 1979, ink (stencil) on to feed their families in their husband’s
paper. From the University of Lethbridge Art absence or taught their daughters how
Collection; gift of an anonymous donor, 1986. to draw, sew, print, weave, or embroider,
Inuit women’s role in the creation of art
remains crucial. Tuu’luq’s mother passed away early on in her life and she relied on the support of other women in her community to learn the necessary skills of life, like sewing. I see this strength and resiliency in Tuu’luq’s print. She stands tall and strong, ready to take on the challenges ahead of her. At the same time, she is representative of women as a collective, a sort of gendered kinship, that can be established as a way to empower the community.
William Noah, Muskox Grazing on Green Grass, 1975, ink (stencil) on paper. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of Dr. Margaret “Marmie” Perkins Hess, 2017.
William Noah was born in 1943 to artist Jessie Oonark, who encouraged his drawing and artistic pursuits. While Noah has worked with a number of printers, I chose to include Muskox Grazing on Green Grass (1975) which was printed by his wife, Martha Noah. Martha Noah was born near Chantrey Inlet, NU in 1943, and, after the death of her father, was one of the first generations to attend the newly opened Inuvik Roman Catholic Residential School when she was fifteen before joining her mother in Qamani’tuaq two years later.
When looking at the work by William Noah in the collection, I was drawn to his technical skills as an artist, and chose to include Muskox Grazing on Green Grass (1975), which was printed by Martha because it shows the kinship connections of the community and within the family. In her years as a printer, Martha translated many drawings into prints, including those of her mother-in-law, Jessie Oonark; her sister-in-law, Victoria Mamnguqsualuk; and Marion Tuu’luq’s husband, Luke Anguhadluq. The existence of this print shows that familial kinship can be created and is fluid. Martha not only witnessed the breakdown of her childhood family with the death of her father, but she also experienced the assimilation practices employed in residential school. However, she was able to find a family and create that kinship for herself, helping many artists bring their drawings to life with her printmaking skills at the same time.
The community of Qamani'tuaq is one of great artistic ability and is home to many Inuit artists. The use of bold, colourful images, done in both stencil and stonecut, set these works apart from those of other communities.
Ryley Gelinas
Collections and Research Assistant