Andrew Qappik

Andrew Qappik is a widely celebrated printmaker and graphic artist from Nunataq, NU, who now resides in Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), NU. Panniqtuuq’s printmaking workshop was established in 1973 and by the age of 14 Qappik had 5 prints in the Pangnirtung Print Collection [1].  From 1978 to the present he has mastered the printing techniques of stonecut, stencil, etching and lithography [2].  

In his prints Qappik fuses traditional themes and contemporary Inuit realities with a majority of his works depicting his experiences on the land. In his print Favourite Place to Be (1993) a glimpse of the world above and below the ice is shared as a hunter attempts to catch fish. The print has a playful quality with the fish shown cautiously investigating the surface of the ice while the hunter appears very focused and ready to catch the first fish that swims close enough.

Qappik was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2017 for his contribution to the design of the Nunavut coat of arms as well as the creation of the Government of Nunavut and the Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated logos. In 2017 he was the Artist-in-Residence at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, where he conducted printmaking workshops to educate others in stencil printing [3]. In 2018 Qappik was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mint to design Nunavut’s 20^th anniversary gold coin. Qappik has exhibited his work around the world and has pieces in the public collection of many institutions such as the Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, QC. He had many prints published by the Pangnirtung Print Shop and has appeared in multiple publications including numerous times in Inuit Art Quarterly.