Geela Keenainak
Settlement: Pannirtuq / Pangnirtung
(1943) — E6-441
GEELA KEENAINAK, a senior weaver at the Uqqurmiut Centre, was born at Qipisaa camp on Baffin Island in 1943 and moved to Pangnirtung when she was 22. A skilled seamstress, Keenainak started weaving in 1982. Over the years, she embarked on ever more ambitious projects and now produces stunning tapestries of northern images and landscapes. Her version of Coming Up for Air is one of the 49 Pangnirtung tapestries featured in the Museum of Civilization's Nuvisavik exhibit. "I really liked the image from the beginning," says Keenainak through an Inuktitut interpreter. Creating a tapestry, she explains, is a collaborative effort, with all the weavers at the centre providing suggestions on colours and technique. Imperial Oil. ------------
Exhibitions
- Artists and Weavers III: Fine Tapestries from Canadian Arctic, Arctic Artistry
- Artists and Weavers: Fine Tapestries from the Canadian Arctic, Arctic Artistry
Collections
- Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada
