Cape Dorset Nunavut has been producing world-class Inuit art for nearly 60 years and the community finally has a new centre to showcase those works.
Named after one of the most notable producers of Inuit art, the Kenojuak Ashevak Cultural Centre opened just a few months ago.
Kenojuak Ashevak’s enchanted owl piece was made into a Canadian postage stamp, it also hangs prominently in the place named after her.
Cultural Centre manager Louisa Parr remembers Ashevak when she was younger and says “she was extraordinary, she was very kind, she never had anything bad to say about anybody, she was kinda old fashioned, but also very famous.”
I used to work in the Inuit Art field, but left because I didn’t feel good about it. The pieces are sold to a local co-op who then sells to Toronto & Vancouver galleries who mark up the prices, sometimes x10 the amount the artist would have been paid.
I used to work in the Inuit Art field, but left because I didn’t feel good about it. The pieces are sold to a local co-op who then sells to Toronto & Vancouver galleries who mark up the prices, sometimes x10 the amount the artist would have been paid.