Johnniebo Ashevak was born in 1923 and lived most of his life in the Kinngait area. He was married to famed Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak and father to their four children. In the 1969 Cape Dorset Print Catalogue, Ashevak was described as: “a big, gentle, shy man who loves to dance. He is a good hunter, engraver and carver. He is devoted to his wife and family, and although they now have a house in the settlement, they still spend the summer months on the land, where they feel most at home."

Johnniebo and Kenojuak often collaborated in their art. He is known for depicting animals, humans, and spirits in transformation. Stories of transformation and metamorphosis are common and important in Inuit arts and culture. 

Exhibitions

• A Collector's Feast, Snow Goose Associates
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• ART ESKIMO, Galerie de France
• Canadian Eskimo Arts Festival, Alaska Methodist University Galleries
• Canadian Eskimo Graphic Art and Sculpture, St. Mary's University Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset Engravings, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Cape Dorset Engravings, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, circulated by the Art Gallery of Ontario
• Cape Dorset Engravings and Etchings from the Sixties, Arctic Artistry
• Cape Dorset Engravings, A Retrospective, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Cape Dorset Graphics *62, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *63, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *66, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *67, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *69, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *75, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Prints and Sculpture, McMaster Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset Through the Years: 25 Years of Graphics and Sculpture, Arctic Artistry
• Cape Dorset, First Generation Printers: Engravings 1962-1963, Albers Gallery
• Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Muscarelle Museum of Art College of William and Mary
• Eskimo Carvings, Waddington
• Eskimo Carvings and Prints from the Collection of York University, Art Gallery of York University
• Eskimo Fantastic Art, Gallery 111, School of Art, University of Manitoba
• Eskimo Narrative, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Eskimo Sculpture '69, Robertson Galleries
• Eskimo Stone Sculpture, featuring Axangayuk, Johnniebo, Kenojuak, The Arctic Circle
• Graphic Art by Eskimos of Canada: First Collection, Cultural Affairs Division, Department of External Affairs, Canada
• Graphic Art by Eskimos of Canada: Second Collection, Cultural Affairs Division, Department of External Affairs, Canada
• Hunters of Old, Inukshuk Galleries Inc.
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Inoonoot Eskima: Grafik och Skulptur fran Cape Dorset och Povungnituk, Konstframjandet
• Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987, Arctic Artistry
• Johnniebo, London Public Library & Art Museum
• La deesse inuite de la mer/The Inuit Sea Goddess, Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal
• Night Spirits: Cape Dorset 1960-1965, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Return to Origins III, The Arctic Circle
• Sculptures by Kenojuak and Johnniebo, School of Architecture, Nova Scotia Technical College
• The Art of the Eskimo, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University
• The Cape Dorset Print, Presented at Rideau Hall by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
• The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the National Museum of Man
• The Inuit Sea Goddess, Surrey Art Gallery, (organized to complement the Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal exhibit of the same name)
• The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher Collection of Inuit Art, Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina
• The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario, University of Guelph
• The Oral Tradition, National Museum of Man
• The Spirit of the Land, The Koffler Gallery
• Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo Art, Casino Gallery, Ravinia Park
• We Lived by Animals/Nous Vivions des Animaux, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in cooperation with the Department of External Affairs
• Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection of Inuit Art, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection of Inuit Art, Canadian Guild of Craft Quebec

Collections

• Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston
• Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth
• Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax
• Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor
• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Glenbow Museum, Calgary
• Great-West Life Assurance Company, Winnipeg
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre, Sudbury
• McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
• University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg