Kenojuak Ashevak* was born October 3, 1927, in an igloo inside an Inuit camp near Baffin Island. Kenojuak was a truly inspiring artist. She married Johnniebo Ashevak in the 1950’s. Her career started in 1958 when a government administrator named James Houston encouraged both Kenojuak and Johnniebo to experiment in sculpting and drawing.

Becoming more well known, she became a role model for many other Inuit women, some of whom have become almost as acclaimed. She was the first woman to become involved with the newly opened printmaking shop in Cape Dorset.

One of her more well-known works is the Enchanted Owl*, made with colour stonecut on laid paper; it was created for Cape Dorset’s 1960 print collection. It was used on a postal stamp* in 1970 to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the Northwest Territories. Soon after it became an artistic icon.

In 2017 the Enchanted Owl was printed onto the ten dollar bill*. In 1982, Kenojuak was awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada*, a medal which recognizes outstanding achievement. To date, only about 500 Canadians have been appointed the Companion of the Order of Canada.

Kenojuak lived most of her life in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, where she was surrounded by her large family of children and grandchildren. She was and still is an inspiration to second and third generation Inuit artists. Right up until she died, she was still making art. Kenojuak Ashevak passed away January 8, 2013, at age 85 in Cape Dorset from lung cancer.

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I chose to write about Kenojuak Ashevak because she was an amazing artist who is now an inspiration to so many other artists, especially Inuit artists. She received many awards for her art and some of her art is priced at over $25,000. I find her truly inspiring.

If you want to find out more about Kenojuak Ashevak here is a site.

https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/canada-s-great-women