A grandson of the carver Kiakshuk and the child of artists Paunichea and Munamee Davidee, Aqjangajuk began carving in the 1950s. Shaa focused primarily on the total effect of his carvings, trading detail for overall form, expression, and spatial interaction. He participated in the early drawing projects in Cape Dorset but realized his strengths lay in sculpture and did not draw after 1960. Only one graphic by him, Wounded Caribou, was ever released, in the 1961 Cape Dorset annual print collection. 

His work was in the famous 1971 touring exhibition Sculpture/Inuit. Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic. Since 1970, he has had eleven solo exhibitions, as well as many group shows. His work is in many major museum collections, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 2003.

Exhibitions

• An Enduring Tradition II: Inuit Carving from the Northwest Territories, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Aqjangajuk Shaa, Houston North Gallery
• Aqjangajuk Shaa - Sculpture, Cottage Craft Gifts and Fine Arts Ltd.
• Arctic Ice: Sculptures in Marble by the Artists of Cape Dorset, Northwest Territories, Marion Scott Gallery
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Canadian Arctic Producers
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Chapelle de la Visitation
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at La Halle aux Bles
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de l'Europe
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Le Theatre
• Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1990, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Centre Culturel Canadien
• Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1991, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Le Colombier
• Axangayu, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Axangayu, Waddington Galleries
• Axangayu, Robertson Galleries
• Axangayu Cape Dorset - Recent Sculpture, Waddington Galleries
• Baffin Island Sculpture, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Canadian Inuit Art, Sponsored by Canadian Arctic Producers at City Hall
• Cape Dorset, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset - Selected Sculpture from the Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset Graphics *61, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Sculptors and Their Sculpture, The Inuit Art Collection Mr. and Mrs. James F. Bacon
• Cape Dorset Sculpture, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Cape Dorset Sculpture, McMaster Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset Stone Sculpture: Masters & the Next Generation, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Collectable Sculpture 1987, Webster Galleries
• Collectors' Choice - An Exhibition of Important Inuit Sculpture, Waddington Galleries
• Contemporary Sculpture from the Arctic, Arctic Artistry
• Die Kunst aus der Arktis, Inuit Galerie, Mannheim held at Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute, University of Siegen at Villa Waldrich
• Die Kunst aus der Arktis, presented by Inuit Galerie
• Early and Contemporary Sculpture and Prints by Well-Known Inuit Artists, Arctic Artistry
• Eegyvudluk Pootoogook-Eyeetsiak Peter- Axangayu Shaa Exhibition, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Eskimo Art, Queens Museum
• Eskimo Fantastic Art, Gallery 111, School of Art, University of Manitoba
• Eskimo Sculpture, Winnipeg Art Gallery presented at the Manitoba Legislative Building
• Eskimo Sculpture '69, Robertson Galleries
• Eskimo Stone Sculpture, featuring Axangayuk, Johnniebo, Kenojuak, The Arctic Circle
• Exhibition and Sale of Musk-Oxen & Bears, Cottage Craft Gifts & Fine Arts Ltd.
• Exhibition and Sale of Musk-Oxen and Bears, Cottage Craft Gifts & Fine Arts Ltd.
• Fantasy and Stylization - Cape Dorset Sculpture, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• First Annual Collectors' Invitational Exhibition, Inuk 1/Eskimo Art
• Four Sculptors from Baffin Island, The Upstairs Gallery
• Glaciopolis: Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Maison de Pesey
• Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Heritage of the Inuit: Masterpieces of the Eskimo, Colorado Galleries of the Arts, Arapahoe Community College
• Hudson's Bay Company Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenossische Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art in Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Images of our past, Art of Man Gallery
• Images of the Far North, Studio Art Gallery, State University of New York
• Images of the Far North, Arctic Artistry (held at the Erie County Fairgrounds)
• Inuit Masterworks, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Music in Art: Singing and Dancing and Playing, Feheley Fine Arts
• Inuit Sculpture 1974/Sculpture Inuit 1974, Lippel Gallery
• Inuit Sculpture--New Acquisitions, Pucker Gallery
• Kaka and Axangayuk, Gallery Shop, London Public Library
• Kanuitpit? Kunst und Kulturen der Eskimo: Eine Auswahl aus den Museumssammlungen, Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde Munchen
• Keeping Our Stories Alive: An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada, Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
• Major Eskimo Sculpture - Cape Dorset, Isaacs Gallery
• Major Sculptures by Aqjangaju Shaa, Houston North Gallery
• Master Works from the Early Years, Arctic Artistry
• Masterwork Sculpture 1985, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Mythology in Stone, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• On the Land, The Arctic Circle
• Recent Acquisitions of Early Inuit Sculpture, Arctic Artistry
• Recent Acquisitions: Watercolors of the Arctic Landscape and Original Eskimo Sculpture, Arctic Artistry
• Sculpture by Axangayu, Franz Bader Gallery
• Sculpture by Axangayu of Cape Dorset, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterwork Exhibitors of the Canadian Arctic, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Sedna: Spirit of the Sea, Feheley Fine Arts
• Shaa Axangayuk, Inuit Galerie
• Small Sculptures from across the Canadian Arctic, Feheley Fine Arts
• Songs in Stone, The Arctic Circle
• The Art of the Eskimo, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University
• The Bear: Sculpture, Albers Gallery
• The Collector's Eye Inuit Art from Private Collections, Albers Gallery
• 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 Shaa Family: Axangayu Shaa, Qiatsuq Shaa, Pudlalik Shaa, Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
• The Spirit of the Land, The Koffler Gallery
• Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• [L'art inuit], Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Les Martres-de-Veyre
• [L'art inuit], Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de L'Europe, Le Touquet

Collections

• Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage
• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor
• Art Gallery of York University, Downsview
• Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• James and Mary Jack Collection, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Macmillan-Bloedel Limited, Vancouver
• McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
• Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Brunswick
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg