Arnaquq Ashevak

Biography

Arnaquq Ashevak was a multidisciplinary artist from Keatuk, NU who later in life made Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU his artistic community and home. Ashevak was adopted into a prolific artist family and began carving as a young adult.

Ashevak is best known for his three-dimensional work [1]. He did not make simple carvings but rather constructed unconventional sculpture with various materials. With assistance from the Inuit Art Foundation, Arnaquq took a 5-week residency in 1981 at Banff Centre for the Arts where he worked with ceramics for the first time [2]. In 1990, he began working as an assistant printmaker for the West Baffin Co-operative, which led to his recognition as a graphic artist [3]. He has also participated in several printmaking workshops sponsored by the West Baffin Co-operative in Cape Dorset.

Ashevak exhibited his work across Canada and the United States at galleries and museums such as Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON and the Albers Gallery of Inuit Art, San Francisco, California, U.S. His work is part of the public collections of institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, QC, to name a few.  Ashevak appeared many times in the Inuit Art Quarterly.

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Accomplishments

1991: Awarded a grant from the Inuit Art Foundation to attend the Banff Centre for the Arts for five weeks.
1992: Awarded a scholarship from the Inuit Art Foundation to attend a three-week carving workshop at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland, Vermont. 

Artist Work

About Arnaquq Ashevak

Medium:

Graphic Arts, Sculpture

Artistic Community:

Kinngait, Nunavut, Inuit Nunangat

Date of Birth:

Artists may have multiple birth years listed as a result of when and where they were born. For example, an artist born in the early twentieth century in a camp outside of a community centre may not know/have known their exact date of birth and identified different years.

Keatuk, NU
1956

Date of Death:

Artists may have multiple dates of death listed as a result of when and where they passed away. Similar to date of birth, an artist may have passed away outside of a community centre or in another community resulting in different dates being recorded.

2009

Igloo Tag Certified

The Igloo Tag Trademark is an internationally recognized symbol that denotes handmade, original artwork made by Inuit artists in Canada. Established in 1958, the Trademark is now managed by the Inuit Art Foundation. The appearance of the Igloo Tag on an artist profile means they have had the Trademark applied to their artwork.

Edit History

September 7, 2018 Profile edited by Susan Rowley