Kiugak Ashoona

Kiugak Ashoona (September 16, 1933 – 2014; also known as Kiawak; Inuktitut syllabics: ) was a Canadian Inuk artist renowned for his sculptural work and his expansive artistic portfolio. He experienced the longest career of any Cape Dorset artist, and is a member of the Order of Canada and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 1999, he was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for his outstanding lifetime contribution to the cultural and intellectual life of Canada.

Early life Kiugak He was one of the last generations to be born on the land and raised with the traditional lifestyle of the Inuit. In 1945, after the death of his father, Kiugak's mother relocated her family to the community of Cape Dorset, over away, to be closer to relatives. As art grew as a new economic opportunity and hunting declined, Kiugak, like many Inuit, transitioned from hunting to creating and selling carvings. His work focused primarily on scenes of Inuit life, such as hunting scenes, mothers and children, as well as creatures of myth or fantasy. Houston and Kiugak worked together to expand carving in the community. After Punisti's death, Kiugak married graphic artist Sorosiluto in 1960, and had multiple children, both natural and adopted. After meeting with Houston, Kiugak transitioned to stone sculpture as this was widely popular in southern art markets. Many of his sculptures at this time were of more naturalistic human figures with themes of hunting and other traditional Inuit activities. In the early 1960s, he took a great interest in conveying Inuit mythology and shamanism through his sculpture.

While Kiugak is most famous for his carvings, he experimented in other mediums such as drawing, painting, and printmaking. He first began printmaking in 1962, using stone-cut engraving. In 1980, Kiugak created drawings using graphite and a combination of coloured pencil and felt-tip pen. During this time, he experimented with creating photorealistic drawings, but ultimately stopped because it was difficult to transfer such detailed drawings into stone carvings.

Prior to his death in 2014, Kiugak had the longest artistic career of any artist living in Cape Dorset.

His work is held in several museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the McCord Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario

Awards and honours Kiugak received multiple honours including:

National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1997) Nunavut Commissioner's Art Award (2009)