Kagyut, William b. 1919*William Kagyut made prints and drawings in the early 1960s. His interest in carving was catalyzed during the latter years of his ten-year stay (from 1953 to 1963) in Edmonton's Charles Camsell Hospital. A song by Kagyut, relating to his illness, is now sung and performed regularly by the "Central-style" drum dance group in Holman. The song came to him in a dream when he was in the hospital. He dreamt of an elder who told him that he would be cured if he learned a song. The elder sang the song to him three times, and told him that when he awoke he had to sing the song to get cured. The song begins: "I'm so happy! I am finally getting better from my sickness. I've been sick for many years. I will finally be able to ; home." He did get better after singing the song.1,2Kagyut employed his carving skills to produce stonecuts for the Co-op from 1964 to 1968. He also made drawings during this period, four of which were used to create prints for the first collection in 1965. Kagyut's drawings were used to make prints as late as 1987.From an interview with William Kagyut by Darlene Coward Wight, Holman, May 2000* Kagyut's birth date on his birth certificate is given as 1922, but this is incorrect.1 See No. 25 in Soapstone and Seed Beads: Arts and Crafts at the Charles Camsell Hospital, A Tuberculosis Sanatorium, by Annalisa R. Staples and Ruth L. McConnell, 42.2 Song explained in November, 2000, by Laura Inuktalik, co-ordinator of the Central-style dance group.

Exhibitions

• Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Exhibition of Inuit Art, Wellington County Museum and Archives organized by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
• Holman Island Whalebone Sculpture, Enook Galleries
• Holman Prints *65, (annual collection)
• Holman Prints *67, (annual collection)
• Holman Prints *68, (annual collection)
• Holman Prints *85, (annual collection)
• Holman Prints *87, (annual collection)
• Holman Recent Sculpture, Canadiana Galleries
• Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Graphics from the Past, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987, Arctic Artistry
• Inuitkonst fran Kanada - skulptor och grafik, Millesgarden
• The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Visions of Rare Spirit: 20 Years of Holman Prints, Port Colborne Library

Collections

• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Glenbow Museum, Calgary
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• University of Alberta, Edmonton
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg