Graphic artist Ningiukulu Teevee awarded WAG-Qaumajuq residency

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This article was published 22/09/2023 (775 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RENOWNED graphic artist Ningiukulu Teevee is the recipient of the 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award (KAMA).

The winner was announced by the Inuit Art Foundation Friday night at the opening of Gasoline Rainbows, the solo exhibition by 2021’s KAMA recipient, Tarralik Duffy, at WAG-Qaumajuq.

KAMA is a biennial prize organized by the Inuit Art Foundation that celebrates and supports the work of mid-career Inuit artists. In addition to a $20,000 prize, Teevee will receive a residency at WAG-Qaumajuq, a solo exhibition and exhibition catalogue. WAG-Qaumajuq will also acquire one of Teevee’s artworks into its permanent collection.

The long list, short list and winner of KAMA are all determined by an all-Inuit jury.

Teevee, 60, is based in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut and is best known for her bold and playful depictions of Arctic animals and people, as well as scenes from Inuit folklore.

Her pieces often have a sense of humour; her 2007 lithograph, Shaman Revealed, for example, is inspired by the legend of folk hero Kiviuq, who encounters a fox in human form. In Teevee’s reimagining, the fox is able to doff her human form via a giant zipper down the centre of her face.

“Teevee has been producing storied, thoughtful, humorous and insightful works of art for nearly two decades, and for her many contributions to the graphic arts she richly deserves this recognition,” said Heather Igloliorte, president of the Inuit Art Foundation, in a media release.

“She is an artist-storyteller of the highest calibre whose evocative prints and drawings have the power to transport viewers to familiar spaces and scenes in the North, whether she is picturing a pot of soup bubbling on the stove, or Inuit playing traditional games in the local gym.”

The WAG-Qaumajuq collection has 47 artworks by Teevee, 18 of which are on loan from the Nunavut government. Her art has been included in more than 40 group exhibitions and 10 solo shows. Currently, her work is on view at WAG-Qaumajuq as part of the group exhibition Anaanatta Unikkaangit (Our Mother’s Stories), alongside fellow 2023 KAMA short-listers Billy Gauthier, Maureen Gruben, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona and Kablusiak.

Teevee’s solo exhibition will open in fall 2025 at WAG-Qaumajuq, when the next KAMA winner will be announced.

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com