Uumati Kisoun-Inuarak is a Two-Spirit and queer multimedia artist who works in drawing, painting and textiles. They were born and raised in Inuvik, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, by Kuukpak "[the] Great River". Their maternal family is Inuvialuit and Inupiaq from Inuvik; Vuntut Gwitchin from Old Crow, YK; and Kaska Dena from Deylu, BC. Their paternal family is Inuit from Mittimatalik, NU. They currently live and work on the traditional territories of the Esquimalt, Songhees and WSÁNEĆ nations in Victoria, BC.
An avid artist since their youth, Kisoun-Inuarak studied drawing, painting and art history in high school, completing their first mural during that time. They also credit their great-great-auntie Emma Dick and their great-grandma Bertha Allen with passing on their love of textiles, an art form Kisoun-Inuarak is currently rediscovering, creating clothing and medicine bags, designing their own patterns and experimenting with textile works and installations.
Kisoun-Inuarak’s paintings and drawings in acrylic, watercolour, pencil and ink reflect an interest in storytelling and, as they describe, ”getting to create my own little world.” [1] On the relationship between their culture and artistic practice, they say: “Where I come from is in everything I do. My inspirations are things like shamanism, my homelands, being in the bush and picking berries and remembering having that sense of comfort and safety.” Kisoun-Inuarak is influenced by DIY movements, punk and grind core, zine culture, as well as traditional Inuit life in the North, Indigenous futurism and contemporary Inuit art. These influences come through in their wide-ranging choice of subject matter, which includes figures from music and pop culture, as well as illustrations of Arctic spaces and Inuit stories. Their work explores the relationships between the two worlds—not only aesthetically, but in terms of cultural identity, displacement and personal family history, and as a way to process their own experiences.
Kisou-Inuarak embraces opportunities to work collaboratively; they have worked on multiple collaborative public art murals in the Victoria area, including the 2023 On the Land mural project at Open Space, and have been building their practice with the Cedar Sage and Sweetgrass Collective, with whom they have participated in multiple group exhibitions from 2021 onwards, including KAKIYAW NIWAHKOMAKANAK All My Relations (2022) at the Port Moody Arts Centre Gallery in BC and Through Our Eyes (2023) at the Anvil Centre Community Art Gallery. [2] Kisoun-Inuarak also participated in the Indigenous Emerging Artists Program at Tah’lum Indigenous Artists Collective in 2022, where they showed their work in the group exhibition The Stories We Belong To at Open Space. [3]
In 2023, Kisoun Inuarak began taking the N’we Jinan ArtWorks program online through inPath, a three-year program for young arts professionals that teaches employability and entrepreneurial skills. As Kisoun-Inuarak continues to develop their practice, they are building experience in other media—including printmaking and film. “I feel like there is an Indigenous Renaissance we're going through right now. There is revitalization, people connecting to their culture, and taking up and creating space for each other.” Kisoun-Inuarak says about the connection and community the continues to serve as a major inspiration and goal for their practice. “I want to extend my gratitude to everyone who supports my art.”
This Profile was made possible through support from RBC Emerging Artists.