Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award

Congratulations to the 2023 KAMA Longlist Artists!

2023KAMA_LonglistReveal_Webpage

2023 Longlist

On February 23, 2023 the IAF announced the longlisted artists for the 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award (KAMA), which features incredibly talented artists from across diverse media. Thanks to the care and generosity of the Inuit art community, KAMA has grown every year to provide more platforms for contemporary Inuit artists.

This is the first year KAMA is able to include a longlist, thanks to the exceptional support of RBC Emerging Artists. Each artist longlisted for the award receives a cash prize of $2,500 and is featured in a dedicated catalogue distributed with the Spring 2023 issue of the Inuit Art Quarterly

This year’s shortlist of five artists will be announced in May. These artists will be included in a special group exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq and each will receive $5,000. The 2023 winner will be announced at a special ceremony in September at WAG-Qaumajuq and will receive $20,000, a solo exhibition at the gallery in 2025, as well as a dedicated residency, catalogue and acquisition to WAG-Qaumajuq’s permanent collection.

Congratulations to the outstanding artists longlisted for the award this year!

 Manasie Akpaliapik  
2023KAMA_Akpaliapik, Manasie
COURTESY THE ARTIST

A well-respected Inuk artist from Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay), NU with an illustrious career, Manasie Akpaliapik is recognized for his stylistic explorations of Inuit legends as well as contemporary social issues that threaten Inuit communities. His most recent accomplishments include being the subject of  the solo exhibition Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe. The Raymond Brousseau Collection at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. 

 
 Deantha Edmunds 
2023KAMA_Edmunds, Deantha
COURTESY THE ARTIST PHOTO JUSTIN OAKEY

Best known as “Canada’s first Inuk classical singer,” Deantha Edmunds is an in-demand soloist and recording artist who performs on stages around the world. Born in St. John's, NL, Edmunds pays homage to the unique legacy of European music in coastal Labrador Inuit communities. In 2022 she released her third solo album, Connections, her first of all-original songs and she was recently named Music Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2022 Indigenous Artist of the Year.

 
 Billy Gauthier 
2023KAMA_Gauthier, Billy
COURTESY THE ARTIST PHOTO MEGAN STEWART, THE NEW HUMANITARIAN

A celebrated sculptor and environmental activist, Billy Gauthier grew up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL and now lives in North West River, NL. In 2010 he had his first solo show at Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, BC, which sold out within an hour. Nine years later, Gauthier was celebrated with the 2019 solo exhibition, Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone, at The Rooms in St. John’s, NL.

 
 Glenn Gear 
2023KAMA_Gear, Glenn
COURTESY THE ARTIST PHOTO LISA GRAVES

An Indigiqueer animator, filmmaker and visual artist from Newfoundland now based in Montreal, QC, Glenn Gear’s filmmaking expertise has led to projects with the National Film Board of Canada and his films have screened in festivals throughout Canada and around the world. In 2021, Gear was included in the inaugural show, INUA, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq and that same year was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award. 

 
 Maureen Gruben 
2023KAMA_Gruben, Maureen
COURTESY THE ARTIST

An Inuvialuk artist raised in Tuktuuyaqtuuq (Tuktoyaktuk), Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, Maureen Gruben’s work sits at the intersection of installation, performance, textile and sculpture. She holds a BFA from the University of Victoria and has exhibited regularly across Canada and internationally. In 2019 Gruben was longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize and in 2021 for the Sobey Art Award. 

 
 Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona 
2023KAMA_Kabloona, Gayle
COURTESY THE ARTIST

A multidisciplinary artist from Ottawa, ON, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona works across media, including knitting, ceramics and prints. In 2022 Kabloona took part in an artist residency with the Art Gallery of Guelph in Ontario, worked with Google to create three Google Pixel wallpapers to celebrate World Indigenous Peoples’ Day. 

 
 Kablusiak 
2023KAMA_Kablusiak
COURTESY THE ARTIST

An Inuvialuk, urban-based artist currently living in Calgary, AB, Kablusiak's work pushes boundaries and celebrates individuality. They were shortlisted for the 2019 Sobey Art Award and the 2021 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, had two solo exhibitions in 2022: Party City (where you belong) at Norberg Hall and mitaaqtuaqtunga (no translation provided) at The Bows.  

 
 Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq 
2023KAMA_Putumiraqtuq, Gloria
COURTESY THE ARTIST

A textile artist and translator originally from Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU, now living in Ottawa, ON, Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq describes her textiles as a visual history of Inuit land, traditions, resilience and cultural stories. She had her first solo exhibition at Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto, ON, in 2001 and in 2003 two of her works were acquired by the Canada Council Art Bank. Her works can be found in collections all across Canada. 

 
 Ningiukulu Teevee 
2023KAMA_Teevee, Ningiukulu
COURTESY THE ARTIST

A graphic artist and author from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, Ningiukulu Teevee is best known for her bright, modern reimagining of traditional stories featuring playful depictions of arctic animals and people. Her work has been in over 40 exhibitions spanning the globe and ten solo shows since 2006 and has been featured in every Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection since 2004.  

 
 Couzyn van Heuvelen 
2023KAMA_van Heuvelen, Couzyn
COURTESY THE ARTIST

Born in Iqaluit, NU with ties to Kuujjuaq, QC, and now residing in Bowmanville, ON, Couzyn van Heuvelen works primarily in sculpture and installation and his practice is centred on themes of Inuit culture, identity. A graduate of the MFA program at NSCAD University, in 2018 he was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award and was shortlisted for the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award in 2021. 

 
     
 
   

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    Deantha Edmunds on 5 of her Most Iconic Musical Performances

    by IAQ
 

About the Award

The Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award (KAMA) is a biennial prize that supports the practice of an Inuk artist by facilitating opportunities for artistic development and career growth. Established in 2014 by generous members of the Inuit art community, this award honours the life and work of the late Kenojuak Ashevak, and her unparalleled contributions to the cultural life and arts of Inuit Nunangat and beyond by providing funding to artists to expand their careers and reach new audiences.

 

Past Recipients

Learn more about previous KAMA recipients. 

 

Making This Award Possible

The Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award is only possible through the generous support of donors.

Established by the Inuit Art Foundation in 2014, the impact of the award was expanded in 2022 thanks to the generous support of RBC Emerging Artists. Today, the biennial prize supports ten artists through cash awards, a catalogue and exhibition opportunities. 

Thanks to a partnership with Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq, established in 2021, the winner of the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award receives additional opportunities for research, creation and exhibition. 

You can help ensure the award’s future by joining this committed group of supporters and giving generously today to support the future of Inuit art.