Mylena Idlout-Mullin

Mylena Idlout-Mullin is a multidisciplinary artist who was born and raised in Iqaluit, NU, where she still resides. Her practice includes beading, digital art and throat singing. 

Idlout-Mullin started her artistic practice with beading and moved into digital artwork later on. She is the creator of the online shop Anaana.Co, where she sells her work. Though she did receive some guidance from her sister for beading and she took some classes, Idlout-Mullin is mostly self-taught. She focuses her jewellery making on creating high quality luxury pieces that include traditional materials.

Throat singing was an important part of Idlout-Mullin’s life growing up. She learned from her older sisters when she was six years old and performed throughout her childhood and adolescence. “It is a big part of my identity.” [1] She has performed at the Alianait Festival and multiple small gatherings and events and hopes to keep performing. 

At the core of Idlout-Mullin’s work is representation of her Inuit heritage. She creates wearable art that highlights the natural beauty of traditional materials like ivory, antler, musk ox horn and baleen. “I wanted to bridge the work from traditional knowledge to modern expression,” she says. Idlout-Mullin processes and prepares the animal product materials in her home shop with her partner. “He always had these tiny scraps of materials, and I looked at those and thought those would look really nice as earrings. That way no tiny piece goes to waste.” She carefully hand polishes the material to create a slightly shiny finished look. Her earrings Tarralikitaannguakuluuk uujaujaak (2024) feature round pieces of walrus tusk at the centre with rings of mint-green, gold and beige beads surrounding it. 

Digital art is a more recent medium for Idlout-Mullin, with which she creates logos and paintings. Sublimation—the process of transferring designs to a material or fabric using ink and heat—is a technique Idlout-Mullin has been focusing on since 2025, as it’s more accessible and affordable for people. Also in 2025, Idlout-Mullin started taking Inuktitut lessons with the goal of expanding her practice to creating children’s books and media in Inuktitut, further representing Inuit culture. “It’s really, really important for children to relate to what they’re seeing.”