Stories tell us who we are in the world, says Marie-Anne Redhead, assistant curator of Indigenous and contemporary art at WAG-Qaumajuq. They also tell us how to survive, she adds.

It’s in that spirit Redhead curated Anaanatta Unikkaangit (Our Mother’s Stories), a new group exhibition at the downtown hub featuring the five shortlist finalists for the Inuit Art Foundation’s 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award.

The biennial prize is presented in partnership with Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq and RBC Emerging Artists, seeking to support the continued development and career growth of established mid-career contemporary Inuit artists.

This year’s shortlist, announced Friday, includes: Billy Gauthier, a Kablunangajuit sculptor based in North West River, Nfld.; Maureen Gruben, an Inuvialuk installation, textile, performance artist and sculptor from Tuktuuyaqtuuq, N.W.T.; Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona, a multidisciplinary artist and ceramicist from Ottawa; Kablusiak, a mononymous Inuvialuk artist and curator based in Calgary; and Ningiukulu Teevee, a graphic artist and author from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut.

While the artists in the exhibition work in varied mediums, Redhead was struck by the ways in which their art is informed by stories passed down along their matrilineal lines.

This exhibition, she said, honours those stories, as well as the work and care of mothers and grandmothers — including Kenojuak Ashevak, the trail-blazing Kinngait artist and printmaker for whom KAMA is named, and whose best-known works include the now-iconic 1960 print The Enchanted Owl that continue to shape Inuit art.

“A lot of the teachings that we get as Indigenous people or even just when we ask questions, a lot of times we get answers in story form,” said Redhead, who is making her curatorial debut with Anaanatta Unikkaangit.

“And we’re the ones who have to make something of those stories in order to understand what we’re supposed to do, and who we are, and how to engage in the world — and I think that comes through very strongly in art.”

KAMA follows a two-year cycle. The 10 artists longlisted for the prize each receive $2,500, mentorship and promotion in a catalogue distributed worldwide via Inuit Art Quarterly. The five shortlisted artists receive a group exhibition at WAG-Qaumajuq and $5,000.

The winner, who will be announced in September, will receive $20,000, a residency at WAG-Qaumajuq the following year, as well as a solo exhibition. An artwork will also be acquired by WAG-Qaumajuq for its collection.

“The WAG benefits quite a bit from Inuit art and so being able to give back in this way is really meaningful,” Redhead said.

“This is the third year for the award, and it continues to grow,” said Heather Campbell, artist and strategic initiatives director for the Inuit Art Foundation. “I think it shows the interest and the importance of Inuit art within Canadian society and in the art realm.”

Campbell said the prize money — and in particular the grand prize money, which has doubled to $20,000 from $10,000 in 2021 — helps Inuit artists have more freedom to create and experiment.

“I’m really excited to see what people come up with because of that.”

Anaanatta Unikkaangit (Our Mother’s Stories) is on view until Nov. 12.

Tarralik Duffy: Gasoline Rainbows, a solo show by 2021 KAMA winner Tarralik Duffy, will open in September.

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com

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