Manasie Akpaliapik (born 1955) is a Canadian Inuk sculptor.[1][2]
Manasie Akpaliapik | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 68–69) |
| Nationality | Canadian Inuit |
| Known for | Scultpure (whalebone, ivory, stone) |
| Website | manasie.com |
Akpaliapik was born in a hunting camp on Baffin Island, Nunavut and moved with his family to Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) in 1967.[2] Though his parents were sculptors, he learned to carve at age ten by observing his grandparents.[1]
At age 12 he was sent to residential school in Iqaluit where his language and culture were suppressed.[1][3] Akpaliapik left residential school at 16 years old.[1][3]
Akpaliapik married a woman named Noodloo and returned to Arctic Bay with his family.[1][3] His wife and their two children were killed in a fire in 1980, after which Akpaliapik moved to Montreal and subsequently to Toronto.[1][3]
Work
editAkpaliapik sculpts with bone, ivory, and stone.[3] His sculptures typically have human or animal forms and are closely connected with traditional beliefs.[4] He began to carve professionally after 1980.[1]
On his work, he says:
Everything that I'm doing is trying to capture some of the culture, about my traditions, simple things like hunting, wearing traditional clothing, harpoons, using legends. I feel that the only way we can preserve the culture is if people can see it.[1]
In 1989, he received a Canada Council of the Arts grant to study certain aspects of Inuit culture including drumming and kayak making for his project North Baffin Island Legends.[1][2] He also delivers workshops about Inuit art.[1]
Akpaliapik was long-listed for the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award in 2023.[5]
Exhibitions and collections
editAkpaliapik's works are in included in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa,[1] Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec[6] and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.[7]
In 2017, the Art Gallery of Ontario held a solo exhibition of his work.[4]
In 2021 the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec held Manasie Akpaliapik Inuit Universe with works from the collection of Raymond Brousseau, the first time it devoted an exhibition to a single Inuk artist.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Manasie Akpaliapik". National Gallery of Canada. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ a b c "AKPALIAPIK, Manasie (1955)". Dictionnaire historique de la sculpture québécoise au XXe siècle. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e "Manasie Akpaliapik". Petroglyphs to Pixels. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ a b "Manasie Akpaliapik". Art Gallery of Ontario. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ IAQ. "10 Artists Longlisted for 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award". Inuit Art Foundation. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ "Manasie Akpaliapik". www.collections.mnbaq.org. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ "Female Drum Dancer - Art Gallery of Ontario". Art Gallery of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- ^ "Quebec City fine arts museum highlights work of Inuk sculptor in new exhibit". CBC. 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-07-10.