Join the IAF in celebrating the five artists shortlisted for the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award in a series of talks this June. The first talk will feature North West River, NL based artist Billy Gauthier!
Born in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nunatsiavut, NL, Gauthier is an artist and activist who began carving in 1996. He was inspired to create further works by his cousin, John Terriak, a skilled Nunatsiavut sculptor. Gauthier creates intricately detailed, mixed-media sculptures with various materials, such as stone, bone, antler, ivory, sinew and baleen (whalebone).
His work often depicts traditional Inuit practices, cosmologies, spirituality and personal memories. Gauthier’s carvings also address contemporary challenges that many Inuit families and communities experience across Inuit Nunangat, such as food insecurity, substance abuse, the impacts of environmental degradation and concern for the environment and wildlife.
During this artist talk, you’ll have an opportunity to learn about Billy’s creative process, and what inspires his unique style.