Sammy Kudluk

Sammy Kudluk is an artist from Kangiqsuk, Nunavik,3 QC who started carving and drawing at an early age. Inspired by his artistic parents Kudluk decided to pursue a career in art. He began by taking specialized art classes in high school and later fine arts pre-university courses at Dawson College, Montreal, QC. Kudluk has credited his parents and other carvers from Kangiqsuk for influencing his artistic practice [1].

Kudluk works in various media including acrylic painting, silkscreen printing, line drawing, and sculpture. Using these mediums as an artistic vehicle, Kudluk explores Inuit cultural identity in his works, including animal-spirit relations and Inuit spiritual traditions; his paintings reflect popular northern themes and scenery [2]. Kudluk is most well known for his drawings and acrylic paintings, gaining notoriety for producing works that decorate many public buildings in Kuujjuaq and the Inuit offices in Montreal [3]. Additionally, he has been commissioned by multiple organizations to produce murals and stained glass windows, most notably by the University of Spain in Salamanca and the Makivik Corporation. 

In addition to his art practice Kudluk worked as a graphic technician for the Kativik School Board in Montreal from 1990-1995. Kudluk has been a large supporter of Inuit art in Nunavik securing grants for artists and lobbying for a governmental artist liaison, a position he eventually held [4]. Among his achievements, Kudluk designed the winning logo for the AIDS awareness program of Pauktuutit, the national representative organization of Inuit women in Canada and was commissioned to create a mural of a hunter shooting a caribou to decorate the exterior of Kuujjuaq’s conference centre [5]. Kudluk is currently the Chair of the Inuit Art Foundation Board of Directors.

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Accomplishments

2015: Elected Chair of the Inuit Art Foundation Board of Directors.

2002: Designed the winning logo for the Pauktuutit AIDS awareness program.