Kinngait artist Ningiukulu Teevee gets exhibit in United Kingdom

Kinngait artist Ningiukulu Teevee’s art has gone abroad.

The exhibit Stories from Kinngait is on display at Canada House in London, England, until June 1.

Teevee was there for the exhibit’s opening on Feb. 7.

“I’ve been to a few openings, and [this one] was really nice,” she told Nunatsiaq News.

The exhibit is the result of a collaboration between the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom and the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq.

Twenty-six of Teevee’s pieces are on display.

Her artwork includes drawings of Arctic animals as well as depictions of traditional Inuit stories.

One of Teevee’s favourite drawings represents a story of a girl who wished she could turn into a bird. The girl turned into a bird, but she tripped and her beak shortened.

“So she turned into an owl,” Teevee said.

Another memorable piece is of a red walrus, Teevee said, describing a creature her husband saw on top of an icepack that must have been sunburnt.

“That one I really like,” she said. “And I’m glad it was [at the exhibit].”

Teevee’s work is well-known. She has 47 artworks in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq.

In 2023, she won the Inuit Art Foundation’s biennial Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award. As a result, she will receive a solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq in the fall of 2025.

Teevee named family as her motivation for becoming an artist. Her grandfather was a carver and her father was both a carver and watercolour painter.

“I guess I picked it up from him,” she said of her father.

Art is also a good way to tell Inuit stories, Teevee said.

Asked what it means to have her work displayed abroad, Teevee said she is glad Inuit are getting noticed.

“There’s lots of [artworks] of Inuit to see,” she said.

Ralph Goodale, Canada’s high commissioner, said in a news release about the exhibit that Teevee’s art is a “profound” way to learn about Inuit culture and way of life.

“I hope many will come to experience this collection of vivacious imagery depicting Arctic animals, abstract natural forms, and stories passed down through generations,” he said.