Kenojuak Ashevak

Kenojuak Ashevak, CC ONu RCA (Inuktitut: ᕿᓐᓄᐊᔪᐊᖅ ᐋᓯᕙᒃ, Qinnuajuaq Aasivak) was a Canadian Inuk artist. She was born on October 3, 1927 at Camp Kerrasak on southern Baffin Island, and died on January 8, 2013 in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Known primarily for her drawings as a graphic artist, she had a diverse artistic experience, making sculpture and engraving and working with textiles and also on stained glass. She is celebrated as a leading figure of modern Inuit art and one of Canada's preeminent artists and cultural icons.

Part of a pioneering generation of Arctic creators, her career spanned more than five decades. She made graphic art, drawings and prints in stone cut, lithography and etching, beloved by the public, museums and collectors alike. Kenojuak mainly painted animals in fantastical, brightly-colored aspects, but also painted landscapes and scenes of everyday life, in a desire to make them beautiful by her own standards, and convey a spirit of happiness and positivity. She had an intuitive and sensitive way of working: she began her work without having a clear idea of the final result, letting herself be guided by her intuition and her own perception of colours and shapes. She painted throughout her life, never ceasing to seek out new techniques to renew her artistic creation. Her fantastical, seemingly simple works became more complex with time, taking on a more technical aspect. At the end of her life, the artist returned to simpler, more singular forms and even brighter colors.

Ashevak surmounted her circumstances to become an artist. Her range of mediums was exceptionally broad and included stained glass. Her achievements were honoured. She was the first Inuk artist inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame (2001), was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1967) and promoted to Companion in 1982. She received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2008) and the Order of Nunavut (2012). Her work, with its superb design qualities, was used for Canadian stamps, coins and banknotes. Kenojuak's best-known work, making her one of the most famous Inuit artists, remains The Enchanted Owl (1960). This major work by the artist was used on a stamp to commemorate the centenary of the Northwest Territories in the 1970s. Her artistic work is thus recognized as an integral part of Inuit culture, and more broadly of Canadian culture. In 2017, the Bank of Canada unveiled a commemorative $10 banknote in honour of Canada's 150th birthday featuring Ashevak's print Owl's Bouquet on the note. She received Honorary Doctorates from Queen's University (1991) and the University of Toronto (1992) and many films were made about her life.