The Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio Names left to right: Dorcas Young (support staff), Elena Akpalialuk (support staff), Anna Etoangat, Geela Keenainak, Kawtysie Kakee, Lucy Qaqqasiq (Manager-in-Training) Lucy Komoartok, Agah Evic, Igah Etoangat, Meeka Akpalialuk (sewer)

The Inuit Gallery of Vancouver is pleased to announce the 2011 tapestry collection from the famed Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio. With a forty-one year history behind it the Tapestry Studio has reached a maturity not common in the north. It now ranks as one of four studios world-wide which employ skilled tapestry artists in the creation of unique woven tapestry. It is the second oldest, ranking below the Dovecot Studio in Edinburgh Scotland, celebrating its centenary in 2012. Surrounded by majestic mountains, this small hamlet sits on the edge of a deep fiord that winds its way from Cumberland Sound to Auyuittuq National Park. In addition to outdoor adventures, the Hamlet draws seekers of Inuit art: stone sculpture, prints and the famous woven Pangnirtung tapestries.

The 2011 collection is enriched by an exciting new development. In 2008 the Studio initiated a ‘guest artist’ program designed for collaboration with artists from other Arctic communities. In that first year the Pangnirtung tapestry artists enjoyed a collaborative exchange with printmaker Germaine Arnaktaujok, of Yellowknife in order to create Combs, 5’H x 7’W, now in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Included in the 2011 group of tapestries is the tapestry Thoughts of the Owl an interpretation of a drawing by Kenojuak Ashevak of Cape Dorset. The tapestry measuring 4’H x 6’W demonstrates the excellent interpretation skills of the Pangnirtung weavers. In the tapestry the strong forms of the drawing are captured and accented through black outlines of the form, softened by skillful blends of coloured fibres, softening the lines. The final image in wool remains true to the original image while executed in wool.

The collection celebrates Lypa Pitsiulak, one of Pangnirtung’s finest artists who passed away in 2011. The Raven and the Seagull is typical of Pitsiulak’s work depicting Inuit legend through drawing. Whimsical and humourous, the birds wearing kamiik tell a familiar Inuit story. While bidding goodbye to one artist the collection welcomes three artists new to tapestry collections: Jolly Atagoyuk, Family of Beluga and Ravens Gathering; Piona Keyuakyuk, One of Those Days and Just a Bird; Geela Sowdluapik, Owl and Lemming; each with delightful and fresh new images. A veteran of the collections, Elisapee Ishuluktuk joined the others in playful spirit with Playing with Bird Masks. The whimsical and lyrical quality of the 2011 tapestries marks this collection as delightful.

 

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