UAlberta Museums Presents: Shifting Geographies: Inuit Art From the University of Alberta Art Collection

Shifting Geographies considers a range of artworks that highlight the lifestyles and cultural changes across the Canadian Arctic. Drawn from the University of Alberta Art Collection’s broad holdings of Inuit art, the works of art in this exhibition show the varying concerns and practices Inuit artists have employed since the 1960s. From print to tapestry, works of art by artists such as Pitseolak Ashoona and Jessie Oonark speak to a land-based way of life and the innovations of the past, whereas artists such as Annie Pootoogook and Tim Pitsiulak show the impact of Qallunaat (non-Inuit) culture on contemporary Inuit life. In doing so, these works of art also reveal the changing social and geographic landscape of Inuit Nunagat. Moreover, they also highlight an interconnected and living Indigenous worldview that continues to evolve. In this exhibition, we see the ways in which land-based knowledge has been passed on from one generation to the next, how food is sourced and sustained, and the ways in which Inuit lives are adaptive to the changing environment. In other words, they show what Inuit people have always known to be true. United in one exhibition, these works of art exemplify the unique contextual circumstances and perspectives that drive artistic practices of modern Inuit art today. Shifting Geographies features 26 works of art that include prints, textiles, and sculptures. - Dr. Nadia Kurd, Curator, University of Alberta Art Collection