Cora Kavyaktok

Cora Kavyaktok
© the artist

Biography

Cora Kavyaktok is a talented photographer originally from Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay), NU and currently based in Vermilion, AB. Since 2009, Kavyaktok has been specializing in portraiture, event and wedding photography under the name Little Inuk Photography.

Kavyaktok primarily photographs women, finding empowerment through her lens-based practice and working with clients to bring out their self-confidence [1]. She also works to capture Indigenous and Inuit celebrations as well as cultural activities. As she explains, “Photography has taken me on a journey and I have learned so much about myself, that I don’t think I would have come to realize if it weren’t for my craft.”[2]  Currently, Kavyaktok is a part of the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project, led by her long-time friend Hovak Johnston, which aims to bring about the cultural continuance of female Inuit tattooing. “When I look back through the photos, I see the reaction that the women have when they see their new facial tattoos [tunniit], and I can see their souls light up,” she explains. “The photography becomes part of the story.”[3]

Kavyaktok’ work has appeared in multiple magazines and newspapers, including the Inuit Art Quarterly. Her photography is featured heavily in the book Reawakening Our Ancestor's Lines (2017), which documents the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project and the process of reclaiming a nearly lost art form [4].

Artist Work

About Cora Kavyaktok

Medium:

Photography

Artistic Community:

Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay), NU

Date of Birth:

Artists may have multiple birth years listed as a result of when and where they were born. For example, an artist born in the early twentieth century in a camp outside of a community centre may not know/have known their exact date of birth and identified different years.

Vermilion, AB
1978