Kakulu Saggiaktok (1940–2020) was an Inuit artist.

Early life

Kakulu Saggiaktok was born in 1940 aboard the Hudson Bay Company supply ship, ''Nascopie'', which was en route from Clyde River to

Pangnirtung Pangnirtung (or Pang, also Pangniqtuuq, in syllabics: ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ ) is an Inuit hamlet, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. Pangnirtung is situated on a coastal plain at the coast of ...

. Her parents and older brother (Qavaroak Tunnillie) were part of a small group of Inuit who traveled from south

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

to the northern region to trap and hunt. Her mother, Ikayukta Tunnillie, was a graphic artist as well. In the 1960s she moved to

Cape Dorset Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning "high mountain" or "where the hills are"; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), formerly known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin ...

, and began to draw as part of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative. Her work often depicts animals. Since 1966, her work has been featured in many Cape Dorset Annual Print Collections.

Career

She was best known for her work on paper. Her work is held in several museums, including the

Agnes Etherington Art Centre The Agnes Etherington Art Centre is located in Kingston, Ontario, in the heart of the historic campus of Queen's University. Situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory, the gallery has received a number of awards for its exhib ...

, the

McMaster Museum of Art The McMaster Museum of Art (MMA) is a non-profit public art gallery at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The museum is located in the centre of the campus, attached to Mills Memorial Library and close to the McMaster University Student Cen ...

, the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...

, the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

, the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

, the

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is an art museum located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Situated in Rockland, Victoria, the museum occupies a building complex; made up of the Spencer Mansion, and the Exhibition Galleries. The ...

, the Canada Council Art Bank, the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

, the Brunnier Art Museum, and the

Amon Carter Museum of American Art Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American p ...

. She married the sculptor Saggiaktok, and they had four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saggiaktok, Kakulu 1940 births 2020 deaths Inuit women People born at sea People from Kinngait 20th-century Canadian women artists 21st-century Canadian women artists Artists from Nunavut Inuit artists