Inuit art on exhibition in Austria

Fabric works and drawings by 16 artists from Cape Dorset and Baker Lake will be highlighted in musuems throughout Austria this spring and summer.

The pieces are part of an exhibit of Inuit art called “Asingit,” an Inuktitut word meaning “different ones.” The exhibit is travelling to several cities in the central European country between May and August.

The “Asingit” exhibit is the first-ever collection of Canadian Inuit art to be shown in Austria.

It features works well-known artists including Jessie Oonark and Kenojuak Ashevak. The pieces range from drawings made with colored pencils to wall hangings made of wool duffel and felt. Some highlights include “Sun and Birds,” a 1961 print by Kenojuak Ashevak, and “Legend of the Dog Children,” a 1975 drawing by Victoria Mamnguqsualuk of Baker Lake.

The exhibit’s pieces all reflect the Inuit idea of “asingit,” a belief that every animate and inanimate object has both a spiritual and physical realm. That idea is captured in prints such as “Caribou/Human Transformation” by Simon Tookoome and “Bird Shaman Transformation” by Oshutsiak Pudlat.

Following its jaunt in Austria, the “Asingit” exhibit may travel to other venues in Europe.