St. Olaf College

Kenojuak Ashevak (Kenojuak)

Contemporary draftsman, printmaker
Canada
1927 - 2013

View objects by this artist.

Kenojuak Ashevak was born in 1927 in Ikirisaq, a small camp on South Baffin Island. Kenojuak grew up travelling through camps on South Baffin and Arctic Quebec. She eventually married a man named Johnniebo, and the two lived in various camps, including one called Keakto near Cape Dorset. It was here, in the late 1950s, that both Kenojuak and Johnniebo first began carving and drawing. In 1966, the two moved their family to Cape Dorset, where they continued to work closely as artists, even including travelling to Ottawa together in 1969 to collaborate on a mural for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka, until Johnniebo died.

After Johnniebo died, Kenojuak’s career continued to thrive. Kenojuak is best known for her prints, some of which have even been reproduced as stamps. She has received numerous awards, appeared in multiple exhibitions, and had books and films made about her career. Many times she was chosen to represent Canadian Inuit artists when traveling abroad. Kenojuak died in 2013, surrounded by her family.

Madison Duran ‘20
April 2019

Sources:
Image © William Ritchie
“Kenojuak Ashevak.” DORSET FINE ARTS, www.dorsetfinearts.com/kenojuak-askhevak.
“Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013), Inuit Artist Biography and Portfolio.” Spirit Wrestler Gallery,
www.spiritwrestler.com/catalog/index.php?artists_id=86.