2023 Annual Meeting of the Inuit Art Society
September 28 to October 1, 2023, in Brunswick, Maine
This fall we traveled to Maine! Brunswick is the home of Bowdoin College and its renowned Peary MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Program. We are working with the college and museum to create some special programming for this year’s meeting.
2023 Conference
The museum is in the process of relocating to a new space in May. As part of our program, we visited the museum, with curators. Current exhibits included “Collections and Recollections” featuring their original collection and its expansion through newer acquisitions. The second exhibition spotlights five Inuit photographers and is co-curated by Inupiak photographer, Brian Adams.
The conference included both in-person and virtual presentations.
Speakers attending the conference included:
- Dr. Nelson H. Graburn, anthropology, Berkeley
- Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, Inuk researcher, curator, and PhD Candidate
- Brian Adams and Jennie Williams, Inuit photographers featured in the exhibition.
Virtual presenters included:
- Inuit sculptors Pits Qimirpik and Toonoo Sharky, as well as gallery owner Bryan Hellwig from Northern Collectables Inuit Art in Iqaluit. Billy Gauthier also made an last minute appearance thanks to the magic of the internet.
- Artists who have done presentations for our society within the last year join us for a “What are They Doing Now” virtual update. These artists include Eva Noah, Vera Grundberg, and Drew Ann Wake.
See the full program for more information.
About Brunswick
You’ll find a variety of things to see and do in Brunswick, Maine, a historic and picturesque New England town established in 1628.
Previous meetings
See program and event information and photos from previous meetings.
Virtual Meetings
The IAS now holds occasional virtual meetings via zoom.
IAS members will automatically receive a link. If you are not a member and are interested in attending a virtual meeting, contact us for more information or go ahead and become a member!
Upcoming Virtual Meeting
No virtual meetings are currently scheduled.
Members will receive a link when meetings are scheduled. Not a member? Contact us.
Past Virtual Meetings
Past virtual meetings include show-and-tell presentations featuring favorite works from the collections of members of the Inuit Art Society (IAS) and the Arctic Arts and Culture Society (AACS) in Vancouver, BC, with one show-and-tell focusing on prints, carvings, and wall hangings illustrating Inuit legends.
Our most recent virtual meeting was built around the theme of transformation. You can see the presentation slides here.
The previous meeting featured shamanic pieces by Judas Ullulaq, Charlie Ugjuk, Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok, Josiah Nuilaalik, and Floyd Kuptana. (You can view the presentation slides here.)
Other meetings featured Inupiaq watercolorist Amanda Jane Davison from Elim, Alaska, Baker Lake textile artist, Eva Noah, whose grandmother was Jessie Oonark, Inuk artist David Merkuratsuk who uses pointillism in his work, and Alaskan artist Vera Shoogukwruk, a a Siberian Yupik/Inupiaq from St. Lawrence Island and White Mountain Alaska who has produced a beautiful collection of parkas, kamiks, mukluks, mittens, and jewelry. Other speakers included Michael Warren from the Madrona Gallery in Victoria, BC and Simon Griffiths, the owner of ABoriginArt, a virtual gallery located in Vancouver, BC.
painting by David Merkuratsuk
Artful clothing by Vera Shoogukwruk
Other news
Making Art on Top of the World
From the New York Times: Near the Arctic Circle, Shuvinai Ashoona, a star of the Venice Biennale, and her community of Inuit artists refuse to let isolation stand in their way.
Read the full story here. (Limited free access.)
Houston’s Mattiusi webisode
As usual, John Houston is busy telling the stories of the north and its people. That includes a short film that follows Mattiusi Iyaituk as he creates the “Flying Shaman” sculpture. Read more and get links in our post.
