Nunatsiavut multi-disciplinary artist Mark Igloliorte was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award in the Atlantic category. Igloliorte was only the second Inuk artist nominated for the prestigious award which was established in 2002.
The Art Gallery of Ontario hosted the inaugural solo show of Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok’s work. Running from May 2011 to June 2012, the exhibition featured more than 40 works made by Tutsweetok between the 1960s and 1990s that belonged to the AGO’s permanent collection. Tutsweetok’s works were displayed on shard-like pedestals inside specially designed “kayak” display cases commissioned from a Toronto artist and Inuit art collector.
The Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, BC, partnered with Kardosh Projects to host Kananginak Pootoogook: Memorial Exhibition from December 2011 to January 2012. The exhibition showcased twenty-seven drawings done by Kananginak Pootoogook during the last five years of his life, including some of the works he produced in the months before his passing in November 2010.
Isuma Productions leader Zacharias Kunuk picked up a Genie Award in March for his short documentary Sirmilik. Created as part of the Canada Parks Project, Sirmilik focuses on the landscape and wildlife of Sirmilik National Park on North Baffin Island.
Feheley Fine Arts held a solo exhibition of paintings by artist Tanya Tagaq. Best-known for her music, Tagaq is also an accomplished painter and several of her canvases were on display at her Feheley Fine Arts for her first solo exhibition.
Nunavuttitut (ᓄᓇᕗᑦᑎᑐᑦ) album artwork
The Jerry Cans, a five-person band from Iqaluit, NU, released their debut album. Nunavuttitut (ᓄᓇᕗᑦᑎᑐᑦ) (2012) mixed Inuktitut and English vocals with a blend of throat singing and rock music.
Shuvinai Ashoona’s works were displayed at three different solo exhibitions in 2012. Shuvinai Ashoona: Ground took over the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, SK, in May, and Shuvinai Ashoona: The Printed Works was exhibited at Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, BC, simultaneously with Shuvinai’s World(s) at Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto, ON, from September to October.
Lindsay McIntyre completed Bloodlines, a five-part series of experimental short films focused on intergenerational trauma and her own family history.. McIntyre filmed Bloodlines and hand-processed the footage between 2007 and 2012. Her silent life (2012) won the award for Best Experimental Film at ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto in fall 2012.
Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, graphic artist Qavavau Manumie was the subject of a solo show at the Madrona Gallery in Victoria, BC, in November, which featured large-scale ink and pencil drawings.
Commissioner of Nunavut Nellie Kusugak named graphic artist Kenojuak Ashevak and musician-broadcaster Charlie Panigoniak to the Order of Nunavut, the highest honour in the territory. Ashevak and Panigoniak become the fourth and fifth inductees to the order, which was instituted in 2010.
Aaju Peter of Iqaluit, NU, was honoured with the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The lawyer and clothing designer was recognized for her volunteer work promoting and preserving Inuit culture. She wore a sealskin vest with amauti designs to her investiture ceremony as a point of pride.