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Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award

Congratulations to the 2023 Winner!

Congratulations to visual artist Ningiukulu Teevee - the recipient of this year’s award!

On September 22, 2023, Teevee became the third recipient of the prestigious Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award at a special ceremony held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq. This year, thanks to the exceptional support of RBC Emerging Artists, she received $20,000, a solo exhibition in 2025, as well as a dedicated residency, catalogue and acquisition over the next two years.

A graphic artist and author from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, Ningiukulu Teevee is best known for her bright, modern reimagining of traditional stories featuring playful depictions of arctic animals and people. Her work has been in over 40 exhibitions spanning the globe and ten solo shows since 2006 and has been featured in every Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection since 2004.

To watch a recording of the ceremony click here.

Watch Ningiukulu Teevee talk about her practice and what being shortlisted means to her!
     
 
2023 Shortlist

Congratulations to the extraordinary artists shortlisted for the award this year! On May 19, 2023 the IAF announced the shortlisted artists for KAMA in conjunction with the opening of, Anaanatta Unikkaangit (Our Mother’s Stories), their group exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq, which runs until November 12, 2023. This is the first year KAMA includes a special exhibition for the shortlist thanks to the exceptional support of RBC Emerging Artists. In addition to the exhibition, each artist shortlisted for the award received a $5,000 cash prize.

Billy Gauthier

A celebrated sculptor and environmental activist, Billy Gauthier grew up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL and now lives in North West River, NL. In 2010 he had his first solo show at Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, BC, which sold out within an hour. Nine years later, Gauthier was celebrated with the 2019 solo exhibition, Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone, at The Rooms in St. John’s, NL.

Watch Billy Gauthier talk about his practice and what being shortlisted means to him!

Maureen Gruben
An Inuvialuk artist raised in Tuktuuyaqtuuq (Tuktoyaktuk), Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, Maureen Gruben’s work sits at the intersection of installation, performance, textile and sculpture. She holds a BFA from the University of Victoria and has exhibited regularly across Canada and internationally. In 2019 Gruben was longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize and in 2021 for the Sobey Art Award.

Watch Maureen Gruben talk about her practice and what being shortlisted means to her!

  • Maureen Gruben

    “The smell of moose hide is a very warm, inviting smell. As an Indigenous person, it brings you home [from] wherever you are as there is this connection to the land and the smell of smoke and hide; it’s a very familiar smell.”
    Read More
Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona

A multidisciplinary artist from Ottawa, ON, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona works across media, including knitting, ceramics and prints. In 2022 Kabloona took part in an artist residency with the Art Gallery of Guelph in Ontario, worked with Google to create three Google Pixel wallpapers to celebrate World Indigenous Peoples’ Day. 

Watch Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona talk about her practice and what being shortlisted means to her!

 Kablusiak

An Inuvialuk, urban-based artist currently living in Calgary, AB, Kablusiak's work pushes boundaries and celebrates individuality. They are longlisted for the 2023 Sobey Art Award and were previously shortlisted for the 2019 Sobey Art Award and the 2021 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award. In 2022 they had two solo exhibitions: Party City (where you belong) at Norberg Hall and mitaaqtuaqtunga (no translation provided) at The Bows.

Watch Kablusiak talk about their practice and what being shortlisted means to them!

     
 
   


2023 Longlist

Congratulations to the outstanding artists longlisted for the award this year! On February 23, 2023 the IAF announced the inaugural longlisted artists for KAMA, which features incredibly talented artists from across diverse media. Each artist received a cash prize of $2,500 and was featured in a dedicated catalogue distributed with the Spring 2023 issue of the Inuit Art Quarterly. Thanks to the care and generosity of the Inuit art community, KAMA has grown every year to provide more platforms for contemporary Inuit artists.

Read Longlist Catalogue

 Manasie Akpaliapik

A well-respected Inuk artist from Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay), NU with an illustrious career, Manasie Akpaliapik is recognized for his stylistic explorations of Inuit legends as well as contemporary social issues that threaten Inuit communities. His most recent accomplishments include being the subject of  the solo exhibition Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe. The Raymond Brousseau Collection at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. 

 Deantha Edmunds

Best known as “Canada’s first Inuk classical singer,” Deantha Edmunds is an in-demand soloist and recording artist who performs on stages around the world. Born in St. John's, NL, Edmunds pays homage to the unique legacy of European music in coastal Labrador Inuit communities. In 2022 she released her third solo album, Connections, her first of all-original songs and she was recently named Music Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2022 Indigenous Artist of the Year.

 Glenn Gear

An Indigiqueer animator, filmmaker and visual artist from Newfoundland now based in Montreal, QC, Glenn Gear’s filmmaking expertise has led to projects with the National Film Board of Canada and his films have screened in festivals throughout Canada and around the world. In 2021, Gear was included in the inaugural show, INUA, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq and that same year was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award. 

 Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq

A textile artist and translator originally from Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU, now living in Ottawa, ON, Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq describes her textiles as a visual history of Inuit land, traditions, resilience and cultural stories. She had her first solo exhibition at Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto, ON, in 2001 and in 2003 two of her works were acquired by the Canada Council Art Bank. Her works can be found in collections all across Canada. 

 Couzyn van Heuvelen

Born in Iqaluit, NU with ties to Kuujjuaq, QC, and now residing in Bowmanville, ON, Couzyn van Heuvelen works primarily in sculpture and installation and his practice is centred on themes of Inuit culture, identity. A graduate of the MFA program at NSCAD University, in 2018 he was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award and was shortlisted for the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award in 2021. 

     
 
   

About the Award

The Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award (KAMA) is a biennial prize that supports the practice of an Inuk artist by facilitating opportunities for artistic development and career growth. Established in 2014 by generous members of the Inuit art community, this award honours the life and work of the late Kenojuak Ashevak, and her unparalleled contributions to the cultural life and arts of Inuit Nunangat and beyond by providing funding to artists to expand their careers and reach new audiences.

This is the first year KAMA is able to include a longlist, thanks to the exceptional support of RBC Emerging Artists. Each artist longlisted for the award receives a cash prize of $2,500 and is featured in a dedicated catalogue distributed with the Spring 2023 issue of the Inuit Art Quarterly. Each artist shortlisted for the award receives a $5,000 cash prize in addition to a group exhibition, which is also made possible with the support of RBC Emerging Artists.

 

Past Recipients

Learn more about previous KAMA recipients. 

 

Making This Award Possible

The Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award is only possible through the generous support of donors.

Established by the Inuit Art Foundation in 2014, the impact of the award was expanded in 2022 thanks to the generous support of RBC Emerging Artists. Today, the biennial prize supports ten artists through cash awards, a catalogue and exhibition opportunities. 

Thanks to a partnership with Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq, established in 2021, the winner of the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award receives additional opportunities for research, creation and exhibition. 

You can help ensure the award’s future by joining this committed group of supporters and giving generously today to support the future of Inuit art.