Mayureak Ashoona (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Mayureak Petaulassie; born September 27, 1946) is an

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

artist, known for her works on paper. In 2010, she participated in the exhibition '' Nipirasait: Many Voices Inuit Prints from Cape Dorset '' in the art gallery of the Canadian embassy in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 2009–2010, she was part of the exhibition'' Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking'' at the National Gallery of Canada. She was included in the 1995 book, ''Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset''. She lives and works near

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 ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

Life

Ashoona grew up traditionally on the land and was exposed to art from a young age. Her mother, Sheouak Parr, was a graphic artist and one of the first women to participate in the drawing projects of the 1950s. Her father was Agiak Petaulassie, an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

minister. Ashoona first started carving and drawing in the 1970s while she was living at an outpost camp with her husband, and fellow artist Kaka Ashoona (1928–1996). The camp, on the southern coast of

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 ...

, required a certain level of self-sufficiency and Ashoona's carvings occupied her time and provided the family with income. She moved back to Cape Dorest, Nunavut, after Kaka's death in 1996 where she continues to live and work.

Artwork

Working primarily with prints, drawing, and carving, Ashoona's art is dynamic and has been internationally recognized. Her pieces often depict the natural world, from in number of styles, ranging from abstract to figural, and portray her unique Inuit perspective. In 1986, her pieces were part of the exhibit "Northern Exposure: Inuit Images of Travel" by the

Burnaby Art Gallery The Burnaby Art Gallery (abbreviated as BAG) is an art museum in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The museum is located on the northern periphery of Deer Lake Park, situated off of Deer Lake Avenue. The museum occupies Fairacres Mansion, a histor ...

. She was also one of the nine featured artists at the exhibition "Isumavut: The Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women" at the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, Quebec. Her work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

References

1946 births 20th-century Canadian artists 20th-century Canadian women artists 21st-century Canadian artists 21st-century Canadian women artists Inuit artists Living people Inuit women Artists from Nunavut {{Canada-artist-stub