Anaanatta Unikkaangit

Born in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nunatsiavut, NL, Billy Gauthier is an artist and activist currently based in North West River, NL. He initially began to carve in 1996—inspired by his cousin, John Terriak, a skilled Nunatsiavut sculptor, to create further works. Gauthier’s exceptionally detailed, mixed-media sculptures combine various materials, such as stone, bone, antler, ivory, sinew and baleen (whalebone) to depict traditional Inuit practices, cosmologies, spirituality, personal memories and more.

Maureen Gruben is an installation, performance and textile artist from Tuktoyaktuk, NT. Gruben’s knowledge of the arctic environment is rich and the admiration she feels for what the land offers for both survival and creation, can be felt through her work. Working primarily with fur, hides, skins and manufactured materials, Gruben forges a link between land and community by activating themes around environmentalism, melting ice and Indigenous hunting rights. Gruben has been recognized through many awards and has exhibited across Canada at institutions such as the Art Gallery of Guelph, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona is a multidisciplinary artist from Ottawa, ON, who creates ceramics, prints, graphic art, wallhangings, knitwear and more. Kabloona’s work is inspired by the art of her grandmother, Victoria Mamnguqsualuk, and the colours and bold shapes of her great-grandmother, Jessie Oonark, and often incorporates traditional Inuit stories told through a modern, feminist lens.

Kablusiak is an Inuvialuk artist and curator based in Calgary, AB. Born in Yellowknife, NT and raised in Edmonton, AB they use art and humour as a coping mechanism to subtly address diaspora, and to openly address mental illness; the lighthearted nature of their practice extends gestures of empathy and solidarity. Their work has been exhibited extensively throughout Alberta and Quebec and has been featured in the Summer 2017, Winter 2017, Winter 2018, Winter 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2021 issues, and was the cover artist on the Spring 2022 issue of the “Inuit Art Quarterly.” They are represented by Norberg Hall Gallery in Calgary, AB.

Graphic artist and author Ningiukulu Teevee is beloved for her whimsical and narrative-driven work. Based in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, Teevee made her print collection debut in the 45th Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection in 2004. In the years since, her work has been included in every subsequent collection to date. Through both her visual art and writing, Teevee shares her unique perspective on historical and contemporary Inuit culture, employing a deft ability to translate traditional stories into dynamic compositions. Her debut children’s book Alego (2019) was short-listed for the Governor General’s Literary Award for children’s illustration, and her stories have appeared in the Inuit Art Quarterly. Teevee’s signature walruses have twice been featured on the cover of the Inuit Art Quarterly, first in 2009 and again in 2014 and within the magazine countless times. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, ON, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Manitoba, among others.