First Name: Janet

Last Name: Kigusiuq

Name in syllabics: ᔭᓇ ᑭᒍᓯᐊ

Date of birth: 1926

Place of birth: Putuqsuqniq camp, Garry Lake, Nunavut, Canada

Date of death: February 27, 2005

Place of death: Baker Lake, Canada

Community / Heritage: Qamani'tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut

Sex: Female

Disc Number: E2-71

Website: N/A

Art Media: Collage, drawing, printmaking, textile, embroidery floss, wool duffel, felt, wall hangings, pencil crayon.

Bio:

Janet Kigusiuq was born in 1926 in the Back River area of the Keewatin region of the Nunavut. Kigusiuq came from a large family of artists, and was the eldest daughter of celebrated artistJessie Oonark. Her siblings included artists Victoria Mamnguqsualuk, Nancy Pukingrnak, Peggy Qablunaaq Aittauq, Mary Yuusipik Singaqti, Josiah Nuilaalik, Miriam Marealik Qiyuk, and William Noah.

Kigusiuq began drawing in the late 1960s. She was encouraged by her mother to draw as a means of making money. In 1970, two of her prints were included in the Baker Lake Print Collection. Throughout her career, Kigusiuq experimented with diverse media including drawings, fabric wall hangings, stone sculptures and paper collages. She created her first collage in 1995 as part of a diploma program set up by the Arctic College in Qamani’tuaq. Her works often depict bold and brightly-coloured landscapes and camp scenes, intimate portrayals of traditional Inuit life, and Inuit myths and legends.

As her career progressed, Kigusiuq experimented further, incorporating more colour and greater abstraction into her works. In 2002, she became an elected member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Her work can be found in many private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Articles:

·       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Kigusiuq

·       https://nac-cna.ca/en/bio/janet-kigusiuq

·       https://www.straight.com/article/traditions-new-line

Exhibitions:

·       1972: "Baker Lake Drawings", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1973: "Baker Lake Drawings", Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1973: "Drawings by Anguhadluk, Annaqtuusi, Kigusiuq, Kukiiyaut of Baker Lake, NWT", Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1974: "Baker Lake Drawings", The Upstairs Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1974: "Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo Art", Casino Gallery, Ravinia Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA

·       1975 – 1977: "Inuit Games/Inuit Pinuangit/Jeux des Inuit", Indigenous Art Collection at Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1976 – 1982: "Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical Symbolism in Eskimo Art", Canadian Arctic Producers and the National Museum of Man, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1976: "Baker Lake Wallhangings 1976", The Guild Shop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

·       1976: "The People Within: Art from Baker Lake", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1978 – 1979: "Baker Lake Drawings", Gallimaufrey, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, USA

·       1978: "Baker Lake Wallhangings 1978", Gallery One, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1978: "Inuit Games and Contests: The Clifford E. Lee Collection of Prints",  University of Alberta Art Collection, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

·       1978: "Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics", Jerusalem Artists’ House Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

·       1978: "The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1979 – 1980: "Inuit Art in the 1970s", Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

·       1979 – 1981: "Keewatin Wallhangings 1979-1981", Canadian Arctic Producers Ltd. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1979 – 1984: "Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical Symbolism in Eskimo Art", Arts and Learning Services Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

·       1979: "Art of the Inuit of Baker Lake", The Galleria, Houston, Texas, USA

·       1979: "Baker Lake Drawings", Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

·       1979: "Baker Lake Prints and Print Drawings", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1979: "Eskimo Narrative", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1980: "A Culture on Paper: Baker Lake Drawings", The Inuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1980: "Baker Lake Prints - Ten Year Retrospective", The Upstairs Gallery,Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1981: "Three Artists of Baker Lake", Images of the Inuit, Los Angeles, California, USA

·       1982 – 1983: "Inuit Myths, Legends, and Songs", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1982 – 1983: "Noel au Chateau - Art inuit de la Collection MacDonald Stewart Art Centre", Chateau Dufresne, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

·       1982: "Inuit Art from the Art Centre Collection", Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

·       1983 – 1985: "Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada", General Assembly Building, United Nations, New York, NY, USA

·       1983 – 1985: "Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1983: "Baker Lake Prints & Print Drawings 1970-1976", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1983: "Return of the Birds", Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

·       1983: "The Way We Were - Traditional Eskimo Life", Snow Goose Associates, Seattle, Washington, USA

·       1984 – 1986: "Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit", Indigenous Art Collection at Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada 

·       1984: "Drawings from Baker Lake", The Inuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1984: "Games of the Inuit", Northern Images, Yellowknife, Northern Territories, Canada

·       1985 – 1986: "Die Kunst aus der Arktis", Commerzbank, Frankfurt, Germany

·       1985-1987: "Chisel and Brush/Le ciseau et la brosse", Indigenous Art Collection at Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada 

·       1985: "Baker Lake Prints 1985", The Inuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1985: "Multiple Perspectives from Baker Lake", University of Michigan Alumni Centre, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

·       1985: "Selections from the McMaster Art Gallery Collection", McMaster Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

·       1986 – 1987: "Oonark's Family", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1986: "Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare Prints from the Arctic", Arctic Artistry, Scarsdale, NY, USA

·       1987 – 1989: "Contemporary Inuit Drawings", The Art Gallery of Guelph (Macdonald Stewart Art Center), Guelph, Ontario, Canada

·       1987: "Inuit Graphics from the Past May", Arctic Artistry, Scarsdale, NY, USA

·       1987: "Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987: Arctic Artistry, Scarsdale, NY, USA

·       1987: "The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1987: "Winnipeg Collects", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1988: "Art of the Eskimo: Contemporary Sculpture and Drawings from the Canadian Arctic", Gallery 100 Hudson, New York, NY, USA

·       1988: "Baker Laker: Persistence of Old Memories", Brandon Allied Art Council, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada 

·       1988: "The World Around Me", University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

·       1988: "Works on Paper from Permanent Collection of Inuit Art", La Guilde|The Guild, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

·       1989: "Baker Lake Print Retrospective: A Twenty Year Anniversary", The Upstairs Gallery, Arlington, Texas, USA

·       1989: "Inuit Graphic Art from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1990 – 1991: "Espaces Inuit", Maison Hamel-Bruneau,  Québec City, Quebec, Canada

·       1990: "A Woman's Vision", Art Space Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

·       1990: "Baker Lake Wallhangings", The Inuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, 

·       1991: "Cape Dorset Sculpture", McMaster Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

·       1991: "Inuit Drawings", Albers Gallery, San Francisco, California, Canada

·       1991: "The Butler Collection: Baker Lake Drawings", Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1991: "The Great Northern Arts Festival", Inuvik,  Northwest Territories, Canada 

·       1992-1993: "Drawings and Sculpture from Baker Lake: Art on the Mezzanine", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1992: "Inuit Art: Drawings and Recent Sculpture", National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 

·       1992: "Jane Kigusiuq: Recent Drawings", Galerie Brousseau & Brousseau, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

·       1992: "Northern Spirits: Selected Works of Inuit Art from the Collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution", Art Gallery of the Canadian Embassy, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

·       1992: "Noveau Territoires...350/500 Ans Apres", Visions Planetaire, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

·       1992: "Women of the North: An Exhibition of art by Inuit Women of the Canadian Arctic", Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

·       1993: "Northern Lights: Inuit Textile Art from the Canadian Arctic", Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

·       1993: "Women Who Draw: 30 Years of Graphic Art from the Canadian Arctic", Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1994 – 1997: "Qamanittuaq: Where the River Widens Drawings by Baker Lake Artists", Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (now The Art Gallery of Guelph), Guelph, Ontario, Canada

·       1994: "Arctic Spirit: 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art", Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, USA

·       1994: "Kunst aus der Arktis Mar", The Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland 

·       1995 – 1996: "Inuit Women: Life and Legend in Art", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1995 – 1996: "Qiviuq: A Legend in Art" Nov 1995 - Jan 1996, Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1995: "Baker Lake Wallhangings",Isaacs/Inuit Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       1995: "Exhibition of Inuit Art", Harbourfront Centre, organized by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

·       1995: "Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi", Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Verona, Italy

·       1995: "Inuit Imagination: Art and Culture from the Canadian Arctic", Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Venice, Italy

·       1995: "Inuit Woman: Life and Legend in Art", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       1995: "Keeping Our Stories Alive: An Exhibition of the Arts and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada", Institute of American Indian Arts Museum,Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

·       1995: "Thirty Years of Collecting", Arctic Artistry, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY, USA

·       1996: "Arctic Mystery, Harmony and Transformation - Baker Lake Textile Art", Art Gallery of the Canadian Embassy, organized by Arctic Inuit Art, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

·       1996: "Daughters of Oonark: Kigusiuq and Mamnguqsualuk", Albers Gallery, San Francisco, California, USA

·       1996: "Janet Kigusiuq: Recent Drawings", MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

·       1997: "Thoughts of Birds", National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       1997: "Transitions: Contemporary Canadian Indian and Inuit Art, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, France

·       1998-1999: "Qamanittuaq Drawings by Baker Lake Artists", Baker Lake Inuit Heritage Society, Baker Lake, Nunavut, Canada

·       1999: "Baker Lake and Beyond: The Graphic Image", Feheley Fine Arts,Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2000: "Inspirit Crossing: The Making of First Nations and Inuit Art", Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

·       2000: "Keewatin", Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

·       2002: "Art by Women", Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2002: "Janet Kigusiuq: Second Nature", Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2002: "Small Sculptures by Great Artists", Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2002: "Works on Cloth", Marion Scott Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2004: "Arctic Visions: Inuit Drawings from Northern Canada", Marion Scott Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2007: "In the Shadow of the Midnight sun", Art Gallery of Hamilton,  Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

·       2007: “Janet Kigusiuq and her Contemporaries: Collage and Drawings”, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2008: “The Land: Inuit Perspectives”, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

·       2008 – 2009: “The Urge to Abstraction: The Graphic Art of Janet Kigusiuq”, Museum of Inuit Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2009: “Paper North: Baker Lake Drawings Past & Present”, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

·       2013: “Animal Power: Images in Contemprary Inuit Art”, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

·       2014: “New Lines: Contemporary Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada”, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

·       2017: “Colour”, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       2019: “Breaking Ground: Freda Diesing, Helen Kalvak, Janet Kigusiuq, Rita Letendre”, National Arts Centre, in partnership with Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       2019: Janet Kigusiuq, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Awards: N/A

Collections:

·       The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

·       The Macdonald Steward Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

·       The Museum of Inuit Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

·       The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

·       Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Collections

• Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston
• Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor
• Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Clifford E. Lee Collection, University of Alberta, Edmonton
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
• Mark Osterlin Library, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
• Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
• University of Alberta, Edmonton
• University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge
• Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg

Publications

• PETER PITSEOLAK, Author: Pitseolak, Peter, Publication: Montreal: Waddington Galleries (1977)
• TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH THOMAS UGJUK — Interviewed by David Zimmerly in March 1985 in Rankin Inlet, N.W.T., Author: CEAC [Canadian Eskimo Arts Council], Publication: Ottawa: Canadian Eskimo Arts Council in collabora-tion with the Inuit Art Section, INAC, and the National Film Board of Canada. (1985)