Akunniq: The Space In Between

Living in a country the size of Canada – some 38 million people stretched across almost 10 million square kilometers of land & water - the space in between is vast.  But there is no greater space than between the strip of urban population that runs close to the American border, and that of the homelands of the Canadian Inuit that stretch over 1 million square kilometres in the northern expanse of Canada, 3 times the mass of France.

Inuit Art helps to bridge that gap.

To fully appreciate the artwork of the Arctic people – it’s important to understand the environment in which they live, and have lived, miraculously, for thousands of years. This website is intended to present you with the extraordinary art of Canada’s Inuit people and provide a glimpse into a uniquely distinct aspect of Canadian culture.

Man’s continuous dependence upon the all-important world of earth, sea and sky is clearly seen in Inuit art.  Our current international anxiety for ecology and the environment, and our growing awareness of man’s oneness with, and within, nature, puts Inuit art directly in line with these concerns.

I am not a historian or cultural expert, but through my over 40 years of being immersed in Inuit art, I have become passionate not only about the art, but also the people and the place.  As a Canadian, I am both proud and humbled by this part of my country that is so far away, and yet so clearly defines what being a Canadian is to me.

Duncan McLean