Lizzie Ittinuar (b. 1930 Kangiqliniq), Map of Hamlet of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, 2005, wool and beads, 152 × 198 cm COLLECTION CANADA COUNCIL ART BANK
For three decades, the Inuit Art Quarterly has been introducing readers around the globe to the brightest and most promising artists the Inuit art world has to offer. As the only magazine devoted exclusively to Inuit and circumpolar Indigenous arts, it has been our great pleasure to share the beauty and vitality of Inuit cultural production both in print and online over the past 30 years. To mark this significant milestone, we have partnered with the Canada Council Art Bank to highlight a selection of works in their collection. The Art Bank is the single largest collection of contemporary Canadian art, with more than 17,000 works including 600 works by more than 175 Inuit artists. Since its founding in 1972, the Art Bank has regularly acquired the work of Inuit artists and now counts some of the most prolific and celebrated artists, both historic and contemporary, amongst its collection.
For her Choice piece in our Fall 2017 anniversary issue, Canada Council Art Bank Manager Rebecca Huxtable selected a wall hanging by Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet), NU-based master seamstress Lizzie Ittinuar. Titled Map of Hamlet of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut (2005), the work features a finely beaded and embroidered birds-eye- view of the community. Ittinuar is also featured in our landmark portfolio “30 Artists to Know” as selected by her granddaughter Victoria Kakuktinniq, proprietor of the popular Iqaluit fashion label Victoria’s Arctic Fashions.
To learn more about our partnership and to see our curated collection visit the Art Bank blog.