Since the Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement came into effect 20 years ago, formally recognizing Nunatsiavut, the artists who live there have been busy. From winning awards to curating touring exhibitions and creating local spaces for artists, they continue to make their presence known. Read on to discover what they have achieved.
6 Longlisted Sobey Art Award Artists
The last 20 years have brought a significant rise in Nunatsiavut contenders to the Sobey Art Award, with multiple artists making the longlist. Mark Igloliorte became the first, in 2012, followed nine years later by Glenn Gear, in 2021. The numbers more than doubled in 2024, as Eldred Allen, Jessica Winters and Jason Sikoak all were listed in the newly established Circumpolar category. Most recently, in 2025, Shirley Moorhouse made the longlist, swelling the count to six.
Both sides of the Truth and Reconciliation coin designed by Jason Sikoak, JD Hawk and Leticia Spence Courtesy Royal Canadian Mint
4 Coins Designed for the Royal Canadian Mint
It all started in 2021, when Jason Sikoak became the first Nunatsiavut artist to have their work featured on Canadian currency. They were approached by the Royal Canadian Mint to submit a design for a contest and ultimately designed the first coin in the mint’s Generations series, featuring an illustration of Sedna. Sikoak was then approached the following year to collaborate with Red River Métis artist JD Hawk and Treaty One Territory Cree artist Leticia Spence on a coin to commemorate the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Next, it was Tegan Voisey’s turn; she collaborated with Thomassie Mangiok, Charlotte Karetak and Mary Okheena, each representing one of the four regions of Inuit Nunangat, to produce a $2 coin celebrating Inuit Nunangat. Most recently, Bronson Jacque worked with the mint in 2025 to design a holographic coin called Moon Sky: Raven.
48 Grants to Nunatsiavut Artists
Despite a smaller population compared to the other regions of Inuit Nunangat, Nunatsiavut has busy artists when it comes to grants. Under the Inuit Art Foundation’s Kajungiqsaut Grant program, 48 Nunatsiavut artists have received grants, representing a quarter of all recipients!
Exterior of Illusuak Cultural Centre in Nain, Nunatsiavut, NL Photo credit Bent René Synnevåg
2 Local Cultural Centres
The last two decades have also brought enhanced cultural support to Nunatsiavut through the development of two cultural centres. The Illusuak Cultural Centre opened in Nain, Nunatsiavut, NL, in December 2019 with five permanent exhibitions that represent each Nunatsiavut community and contain clothing, tools, crafts and other objects. In addition to the galleries, the centre also was constructed with studio space, a craft shop, an auditorium and a 75-seat theatre, all of which bolstered the ability of local artists to make and display their work. More recently, in Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, NL, the Inotsiavik Centre acquired a house in the community and started running arts programming after winning the $1 million Arctic Inspiration Prize in 2024. Helmed by a team of young local Inuit, which includes Nicholas, Veronica and Vanessa Flowers as well as Kimberly Pilgrim and Malaya Kisa-Knickelbein, Inotsiavik began with kamik making and in future hopes to have weekly sewing circles and drop-in language lessons as well as tool-making apprenticeships and traditional skill-building activities.
2 Nunatsiavummuit-edited Inuit Art Quarterly Issues
In 2015, Dr. Heather Igloliorte (now the Inuit Art Foundation Board Past President) became the first Inuk from any region to edit an issue of the Inuit Art Quarterly. Her special issue, themed around art from her home region, became the first issue to sell out during its time on newsstands. A decade later, Nunatsiavut journalist and filmmaker Ossie Michelin guest edited The Pride Issue, another landmark edition for its focus on the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community in Inuit Nunaat, working alongside the IAQ’s team of Inuit and non-Inuit editors.
1 Order of Canada, 1 Juno Nomination, 1 new RCA member and More
Beyond KAMA and the Sobey, Nunatsiavut artists have been busy winning all manner of awards. In 2011, Michael Massie was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts (RCA), and in 2017, he became a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2021, Dr. Heather Igloliorte was awarded the RCA Medal by the academy. Two years later, Deantha Edmunds was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2025, she made history when she became the first Indigenous woman to win a Juno for classical composition of the year, for her song “Angmaluksiaa.” While these examples represent major wins in the art world, they are accompanied by too many accolades to name, like Nellie Winters being awarded an honorary degree from Memorial University in 2021 or Jennie Williams being nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in 2022.
Installation view of SakKijâjuk showing garments (left to right) by Susannah Igloliorte, Chantelle Andersen and Sophie Pamak with drawings by Josephina Kalleo in the background COURTESY THE ROOMS
1 Landmark Exhibition that Paved the Way for Many More
Opening in 2016 at The Rooms in St. John's, NL, SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut was the first major exhibition on Nunatsiavut art, featuring a diverse range of work from 47 artists across four generations. Curated by Dr. Heather Igloliorte, the show travelled across the country to places as diverse as the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, SK, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Manitoba, bringing Nunatsiavut art to many new viewers.
Nunatsiavut artists have, since then, enjoyed a presence at events such as INUA, the inaugural exhibition of Qaumajuq at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, which had an all-Inuit curatorial team led by Dr. Igloiorte, or on international runways, where Stitched By April (the label of April Allen) has been showcased multiple times. Other shows, such as Nunatsiavut / Our Beautiful Land (2019) at La Guilde in Montreal, QC, or ᐃᔨ - Eyes - Shirley Moorhouse (2025), which was held at The Rooms, have demonstrated a continued interest in Nunatsiavut art. There is also Nunatsiavut art’s growing commercial success: at Billy Gauthier’s first solo, held in 2010 at the former Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, BC, his work sold out in an astonishing 18 minutes.
As often as they are becoming the subject of exhibitions, Nunatsiavummuit are also increasingly working behind the scene to make exhibitions happen, thanks to curators like Heather Campbell, Jessica Winters and Dr. Igloliorte—Campbell most recently curated Abraham Anghik Ruben (2025) at the WAG-Qaumajuq; Winters curated Billy Gauthier: Saunituinnaulungitotluni | Beyond Bone in 2019 at The Rooms and recently co-curated a special exhibition inside the 2025 Bonavista Biennale alongside Vanessa Flowers and Ella Jacque; and Igloliorte, among many other accomplishments, led the seven-year Inuit Futures project, which provided training for young Inuit, and curated the 2025 Bonavista Biennale, String Games.
$2.9 Million in Value as an Arts Industry
In 2021, the Nunatsiavut government released a Nunatsiavut-specific Arts Strategy, assessing the number of artists and the types of art produced in the region. In addition to proposing strategies and programming to support local artists, such as a pattern library, a series of art auctions and an artist-in-residence program at the Torngat Mountains Base Camp and Research Station, the writers found that that monetary value of the arts industry in Nunatsiavut could conservatively be assessed at $2.9 million in output.
Jesse James Ford, Seth Ford, Hannah Gear and Michelle Nochasak work on the mural on the side of Frank’s General Store Photo Jessica Winters
1 Extra-large Mural
2020 brought some large-scale art to Nunatsiavut, as painter Jessica Winters—working with students Jesse James Ford, Seth Ford, Hannah Gear and Michelle Nochasak—completed a mural on the side of Frank’s General Store in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut, NL. It is the first large-scale mural created anywhere in Nunatsiavut and spans more than 10 feet tall and 50 feet wide. Funded by the Nunatsiavut government both with an aim to create public art and to create training opportunities for artists, the mural was developed from drawing sessions with the students. It features an ocean scene with a bowhead whale and other marine mammals that play an important role in Inuit traditional food and clothing.
4 Artists Listed for the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award
Nunatsiavut artists have also garnered attention through the Inuit Art Foundation’s Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award; in 2021, Eldred Allen became the first Nunatsiavut artist shortlisted for the award. In 2023, Deantha Edmunds and Glenn Gear were named to the inaugural longlist, and Billy Gauthier became the second Nunatsiavut artist ever shortlisted.
Barry Pottle Silverspoon I (2017) Digital photograph COURTESY THE CITY OF OTTAWA
Countless Museum Acquisitions
Over the past 20 years, Nunatsiavut art has also been increasingly acquired by national museums. For example, Heather Campbell’s Methylmercury (2017) was acquired by the WAG-Qaumajuq, and a collection of ten photographs by Barry Pottle was acquired by the Ottawa Art Gallery. Also notable are works by Jason Sikoak and Eldred Allen, acquired by the Indigenous Art Centre in 2018 and 2021 respectively, and works by Allen and Jessica Winters, acquired by the Canada Council Art Bank in 2023.