Inuit art travels the world in two major exhibitions

Here’s a look of some of the objects now on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s exhibition, Our Land: Contemporary Art from the Arctic. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WAG)

At the Sept. 30 opening of Our Land at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Peter and Elizabeth Awa look at the Qingailisaq’s shaman coat, a replica made in 1983 of the original parka, which was conceived by their ancestor. According to polar explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen, the parka was made for Qingailisaq after he met ijiqqat, humanlike supernatural beings. The parka’s design, with its white and dark caribou fur, resembles the garments worn by these ijiqqat. The original, now at the collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, was collected by the whaler Captain George Comer in 1902. (PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHEN BORYS)

Canada House in London is displaying Floe Edge: Contemporary Art and Collaborations from Nunavut until Nov. 30. (HANDOUT PHOTO

Inuit art exhibitions opened Sept. 30 in two major venues showcasing the best of Inuit art to audiences in Winnipeg and London.

Our Land: Contemporary Art from the Arctic, which opened at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, displays work from the Government of Nunavut’s fine art collections and some pieces not seen in Canada since before Nunavut was established in 1999, the WAG said.

The Our Land exhibit, co-organized in 2004 by the GN and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, was then called “stunning” by the Boston Globe.

For its Canadian debut, the exhibition was expanded by the WAG, home to the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit, to include an even wider selection of carvings, prints, artifacts, photographs, films and textiles.

The entire collection of the GN, numbering close to 7,300 pieces, was brought to Winnipeg earlier this year through a partnership between the governments of Nunavut and Manitoba with the WAG.

After the creation of Nunavut in 1999, the collections of art, archives, and artifacts had been previously stored at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

“The partnership with the Winnipeg Art Gallery is a unique opportunity for collaboration,” said George Kuksuk, Nunavut’s minister of Culture and Heritage in a Sept. 30 news release.

“The department looks forward to our continued association with Manitoba on these types of initiatives which we believe shall have long-term positive outcomes for Nunavummiut, residents of Manitoba and all Canadians.”

Our Land also features events: Oct. 12 “Art for Lunch” event, which will feature talk with Radovan Radulovic, the WAG’s head of conservation and, on Nov. 2, the WAG’s Inuit art curator, Darlene Coward Wight, will lead an exhibition tour.

Traditional Arctic meals, paired with a tour of Our Land, are set for Oct. 12 and Nov. 17.

You can also se an exhibit of work by Naujaat carver Paul Malliki and Cape Dorset printer Tim Pitsiulak, which also opened Sept. 30 and remains at the WAG until Oct. 25.

To view all programming details, visit wag.ca.

Then, if you’re in London, England, head to the Canada Gallery at Canada House on Trafalgar Square, where Floe Edge: Contemporary Art and Collaborations from Nunavut, opened Sept. 30.

Floe Edge brings together 18 artists and collaborators for an exhibition that “reflects the culture, spirit and challenges of this unique region,” a Canadian government release said.

The exhibition, mounted with the arts organization, AXENÉO7, and the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, includes sealskin fashion along with video and photographs by Clyde River photographer, and Nunatsiaq News contributor, Niore Iqalukjuaq, and Mathew Nuqingaq’s silver snow goggles as well as Nicole Camphaug’s sealskin heels and Nala Peter’s sealskin lingerie.

You can see that exhibition, Monday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., until Nov. 30.