• Age: 13
• Grade: 8

Cape Dorset sits at the very heart of Inuit culture. Since the late 1950s, this community has symbolized the essence of Inuit art, thanks to the widely acclaimed work of artists such as Kenojuak Ashevak, Mayureak Ashoona, Pitseolak Ashoona, Qaunaq Mikkigak, Oopik Pitsiulak, Napachie Pootoogook, Lucy Qinnuayuak, Pitaloosie Saila and Ovilu Tunnillie. Their art -- graphics, sculpture and jewellery -- is shown here in 200 superbly printed reproductions, over 50 of which are in full colour.

Odette Leroux was born in Montreal, Quebec, and obtained a L. ès L. in Art History from L'Institut d'art et d'archéologie, Université de Paris in 1974. She is the former Curator of Contemporary Inuit Art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization where she was responsible for may major exhibitions such as The Cape Dorset Print: Commenorating Twenty-five Years of Printmaking at Cape Dorset, an exhibition at Rideau Hall by the National Museum of Man (Ottawa, 1983); In the Shadow of the Sun, Canadian Museum of Civilization (Hull, 1988–10); Arctic Mirror, Canadian Museum of Civilization (Hull, 1990); Inuit Art, Tradition and Regeneration, Canadian Museum of Civilization (Hull, 1992–93); and Isumavut: THe Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women, Canadian Museum of Civilization (Hull, 1994–95), upon which this book is based.

Odette Leroux's profile page

Minnie Aodla Freeman was born on the Cape Hope Islands in James Bay in 1937 and grew up immersed in traditional Inuit culture. She is a translator, writer, editor , film producer, and has worked as Assistant Editor of Inuit Today Magazine, as Native Cultural Advisor and Narrator for the Canadian Broadcasting Co rpora ti on, and as Executive Secretary of the Land Claims Secretariat of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. She also founded and served as Manager /Producer of the Inuit Broadcast ing Corp orati on and has held lectureships ,at the University of Alberta, the University of Western Ontario, Memorial University and Arctic College.

Minnie Freeman's profile page

Marion E. Jackson was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and received a Ph.D. in History of Art from the University of Michigan in 1985. She is Professor of Art History at Wayne State University in Detroit , Michigan. She has been involved in curating several exhibitions of Inuit art, including Inuit Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene B. Power (University of Michigan , 1979); The Vital Vision: Drawings by Ruth Annaqtuusi Tulurialik (with David Pelly, Art Gallery of Windsor , 1986); Contemporary Inuit Drawings (with Judith Nasby Macdonald and Stewart Art Centre and the University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1987); Parr (Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, 1988); and Pudlo: Thirty Years of Drawings (with Marie Routledge, NationalGallery of Canada, 1990).

Marion Jackson's profile page

"reminiscences of life on the land and thoughtful comments on thier sources of inspiration are interwoven with vivid images of a unique culture and stern landscape."

"throughout, evocative colour and black-and-white images show remarkable works...by these artists, who hail from Cape Dorset, at the ery heart of Inuit culture."

Kitchener-Waterloo Record

Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset

First released in 1994, Inuit Women Artistsexamines the art of nine female artists from Cape Dorset, NWT. The art of Pitseolak Ashoona, Lucy Qinnuyuak, Kenojuak Ashevak, Qaunak Mikkigak, Napachie Pootoogook, Pitaloosie Saila, Oopik Pitsiulak, Mayoreak Ashoona and Ovilu Tunnillie is highlighted. Each woman’s artwork, which include graphics, sculpture and jewelry, is presented and described. A biography and artist’s discussion of their works also accompany the reproductions. A glossary is included.

Leroux is the former curator of Contemporary Inuit Art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Jackson’s previous books include Contemporary Inuit Drawings and Qamanittuaq: Drawings by Baker Lake Artists. Freeman was an assistant editor of Inuit Today Magazine and is the author of Life among the Qallunaat.