Manasie Akpaliapik (born 1955) is a Canadian Inuk sculptor.[1][2]

Manasie Akpaliapik
Born1955 (age 68–69)
NationalityCanadian Inuit
Known forScultpure (whalebone, ivory, stone)
Websitemanasie.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

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Akpaliapik 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

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Akpaliapik'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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c "AKPALIAPIK, Manasie (1955)". Dictionnaire historique de la sculpture québécoise au XXe siècle. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Manasie Akpaliapik". Petroglyphs to Pixels. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  4. ^ a b "Manasie Akpaliapik". Art Gallery of Ontario. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  5. ^ IAQ. "10 Artists Longlisted for 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award". Inuit Art Foundation. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  6. ^ "Manasie Akpaliapik". www.collections.mnbaq.org. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Female Drum Dancer - Art Gallery of Ontario". Art Gallery of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  8. ^ "Quebec City fine arts museum highlights work of Inuk sculptor in new exhibit". CBC. 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
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