Montreal museum’s new Inuit gallery envisioned as space for sharing inspiration

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic @arctic_eq
Posted: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 17:05 — Last Updated: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 17:13
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Nunavik artist Mattiusi Iyaituk at the opening of “ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (Eilís Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has just unveiled a brand-new gallery showcasing Inuit art, a place the curator hopes will spark conversations and reflections about life, culture, and creativity.

“One of the really unique things that I feel in this exhibition—that I don’t know that I felt before to this degree with something I’ve installed—is that each work is multiplying the other works’ voices and the energy is bouncing off of each other,” asinnajaq, the curator, told Eye on the Arctic.

“It’s incredible for me to have been able to feel that and I hope that visitors will also feel the sense that everything is augmenting each other.”

ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life brings together works by Inuit artists from across the Inuit homeland in Canada: The Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik in northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut in Labrador.

“My Last Arrow” by Victoria Mamnguqsualuk at the MMFA. (Eilís Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

“This new presentation attests, through the diversity of proposals and generations, to the vitality of artistic creation throughout Inuit Nunangat, and more broadly to Indigenous resurgence in Canada and internationally,” says Léuli Eshrāghi, the museum’s curator of Indigenous Practices.

In all, 60 works are displayed encompassing all mediums including the prints and sculptures Inuit artists are often known for as well as drawings and installations.

The museum intends to maintain a rotating display of 120 works representing some 70 artists.

“This exhibition conceived by asinnajaq is a breath of fresh air that transports us on a wave of joy and curiosity into unique worlds and perspectives,” Jacques Des Rochers, the museum’s senior curator of Quebec and Canadian Art, said.

“From the more traditional sculptures and prints to new-fangled art forms, the blend of genres brings the new Inuit art galleries to life,” Jacques Des Rochers, the museum’s senior curator of Quebec and Canadian Art (right) with curator asinnajaq (centre) and Léuli Eshrāghi, the museum’s curator of Indigenous Practices (left). (Eilís Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

Nunavik artist Mattiusi Iyaituk said seeing his work with Quebec metalwork artist Etienne Guay, Iqualuullamikuuq (First Mermaid) That Can Manoeuvre on the Land (Sidecar) at the museum was an experience he hadn’t anticipated.

“I never expected to see that ….” he said, looking over the gallery as visitors wandered around the massive sculpture.

“My mother used to talk about mermaids, so I said to myself, I have to make a mermaid,” he said. ““I just want people to see what I can make… like the face, and the hair.”

Nunavik artist Mattiusi Iyaituk with “Iqualuullamikuuq (First Mermaid) That Can Manoeuvre on the Land (Sidecar),” his sculpture created with Quebec metalwork artist Etienne Guay. (Eilís Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

asinnajaq said the more often Indigenous artists and curators can come together, the more discoveries people will be able to make about the art.

“I’m more aware and connected to the international Indigenous art world and getting more and more inspired by curators that are working around the world and wanting to make these spaces our own,” she said. “I think we’re able to do this and create this because there’s a lot of people like me to make exhibitions like this as well as the desire from the institutions.”

asinnajaq, herself also an artist, said her approach to selecting work for the exhibit was an exercise in listening.

“First, I tried to listen to the museum’s collection itself and the artworks in it,” she said. “The artworks that are on display all have such a strong pull that they had to be a part of the exhibition.”

“The visitors are the ones perceiving [the exhibition] and making it what it is through their own experience,” said curator asinnajaq. (Eilís Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

asinnajaq said her vision extends beyond the artworks themselves; and is about the evolving experience of the works as they are shaped by each visitor.

“I really view this exhibition as a cooperation between all of the artists, myself, this room, the staff at the museum and then each person that comes,” she said.

“The visitors are the ones perceiving it and making it what it is through their own experience. I really want to thank in advance everyone who will come and make this a part of their lives.”