INUA, Qaumajuq’s Inaugural Exhibition

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Jesse Tungilik. "Seal Skin Spacesuit," 2021

detail, photo Jessica Kotierk.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is excited to announce INUA, the inaugural exhibition of Qaumajuq, the Inuit art centre. Presented by RBC, INUA brings together more than 90 Inuit artists working across the Arctic and the urban south today. 

For the first time ever, a curatorial team represents all four regions of Inuit Nunangat, the homeland of Inuit in Canada, including Nunatsiavut, Labrador; Nunavut; Nunavik, Quebec; and Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq, Northwest Territories. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Heather Igloliorte, asinnajaq, Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, and Kablusiak, with support by a ground-breaking Inuit team including project manager Jocelyn Piirainen, WAG Assistant Curator of Inuit Art; Nicole Luke, Exhibition Designer; Mark Bennett, Graphic Designer, and Kayla Bruce, Educational Assistant. 

Quick Facts: 

• INUA–meaning “life force” in many dialects across the Arctic–is an acronym for Inuit Nunangat Ungammuaktut Atautikkut, or “Inuit moving forward together,” reflecting the curators’ collective vision for Qaumajuq, the Inuit art centre. 
• The exhibition is presented in Qilak (“sky” in Inuktitut), the awe-inspiring, third-level gallery with massive skylights that fill the 8,000-square-foot space with natural light, and Giizhig/Kisik (“sky, heaven, day” in Cree, Michif, and Ojibway), a focus gallery on the fourth level of Qaumajuq, overlooking Qilak. The monumental, sculptural walls evoke the immense geographic features that are the background of many Inuit towns and inlets.  
• INUA features more than 90 Inuit artists from across Inuit Nunangat, as well other circumpolar regions including Alaska, and Greenland, and some living in the urban south. Emerging artists are celebrated alongside more established, senior, and elder artists. The full list of artists can be seen at wag.ca/inua. 
• INUA includes approximately 100 artworks representing a wide range of media that challenges preconceptions of Inuit art, from digital media and installation art to mixed-media sculpture, painting, and photography.  
• Ten new artworks commissioned for INUA are integrated with works from the WAG’s world-renowned collection of Inuit art and loaned pieces, spanning generations of artists.  
• RBCxWAG: INUA Virtual Sessions will plug into the theme of futurism and enable you to experience the exhibition no matter where you are in the world. The exciting series of online programs featuring the artists and curators will take place bi-weekly starting in April: virtual meet-ups, panel discussions, storytelling, art-making workshops, and more. Watch for the full list of INUA Virtual Sessions at wag.ca/inua. 
• An audio tour of the exhibition created through a partnership with the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership project will include the perspectives of more than twenty Inuit and Inuvialuit from across Canada and further amplify the voices of the artists. 

About Qaumajuq: 

• Qaumajuq is the first art museum of its kind, bringing Inuit voices to the forefront, and dedicated to the art and culture of Inuit from Canada and beyond. 
• The Inuit art centre will innovate the art museum, taking art from object to full sensory experience with Inuit-led programming, complementing and augmenting the cutting-edge art education that the WAG offers today. 
• The new 40,000-square-foot-building designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture with Cibinel Architecture will connect to the WAG on all four levels, providing stunning exhibition, learning and event spaces; a revamped shop; plus a new café on the main level in partnership with Sparrow Hotels. 
• The central feature is a three-storey Glass Vault, showcasing thousands of carvings. The public is invited to help build Qaumajuq by purchasing a shelf on the Visible Vault (details at wag.ca/qaumajuq).