From closely observed naturalistic scenes of her Arctic home to monstrous and fantastical visions — each one of Inuit artist Shuvinai Ashoona’s drawings has its own story to tell.
Concordia’s Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery is presenting Ashoona’s first major solo museum exhibition, from October 30 to January 18, 2020. It features 33 drawings that vary in both scale and medium, completed over the past 15 years.
Michèle Thériault, director of the Ellen Art Gallery, programmed this exhibition as part of their overall initiative to feature Indigenous practices and curating on a regular basis.
Two years ago the Gallery produced Among All These Tundras with Inuk scholar Heather Igloliorte, associate professor in the Department of Art History, which juxtaposed Inuit practices with those of other Arctic communities in the world.
“Presenting the work of Shuvinai Ashoona is a continuation of an effort to bring significant Inuit art and knowledge to Concordia and Montreal," says Thériault.
ᓱᕕᓇᐃ ᐊᓲᓈ : ᓄᓇᙳᐊᓕᐅᕐᓂᖅ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᙳᐊᓂᒃ (Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds) is a selection of works produced by the artist over the past two decades. It is being organized and circulated by The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto.
Curator Nancy Campbell says Ashoona inhabits a pivotal place both among Inuit artists and in the contemporary Canadian art scene in general.