Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak dies at 85
Celebrated Inuit art pioneer from Nunavut remembered as humble
World-renowned Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak died this morning at home in the community of Cape Dorset in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut, at age 85.
Ashevak is considered a pioneer of Inuit art. Her drawings, prints and sculptures have been bought and displayed around the world.
Her work has also been featured on several Canada Post stamps over the years, including her most famous print, Enchanted Owl.
Ashevak was born in 1927 in a camp on Baffin Island and lived the traditional nomadic life on the land before settling in Cape Dorset.
Okpik Pitseolak, an artist from Cape Dorset who knew Ashevak personally, said she brought Inuit art to the world but was “very humble about her work.” Pitseolak said that when she appeared on the radio to talk about her art, she didn’t want to come across “as someone who brags” about it. But she was “thankful for the fact that she was given this gift.”
Ashevak was named to the Order of Canada in 1967 and later promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1982.
Last year, she was appointed to the recently created Order of Nunavut.
Related Link:
VIDEO INTERVIEW: The Pioneer – Kenojuak Ashevak, Radio Canada International, 2010
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