Mary Paningajak

Mary Paningajak is a multidisciplinary artist from Ivujivik, Nunavik, QC. She works across printmaking, jewellery, graphic arts and carving [1]. Paningajak has been interested in the arts ever since she was a young child and would often observe her father, Tivi Paningajak (1917-1991) make prints and carvings [2]. In her own work, Paningajak draws inspiration from Inuit history and is fascinated by the tools and methods Inuit have created, and continue to create, from their surroundings. She produces graphic and vivid works that share her personal experiences as well as community events and history.

Paningajak has furthered her artistic practice by participating in numerous Nunavik art workshops and has also received a grant for a personal artistic project from the Aumaaggiivik, Nunavik Arts Secretariat. In 2012, she attended an artistic residency in printmaking in Montreal that boosted her independent practice and dedication to the medium. During this residency, she gave an artist talk at the Coopérative Lez Arts and the Galerie La Centrale—Power House. Paningajak serves as mayor of Ivujivik from 2017 to 2018. Her work was featured in the fall 2018 issue of the Inuit Art Quarterly and has also been included in Tumivut Magazine. Her work is included in public collections including Avataq Cultural Institute, Montreal, QC and the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Montreal, QC. Paningajak also participated in the collaborative exhibition Convergence North/South at Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto, ON.