Mayoreak Ashoona

(1946 – Present)

Mayoreak began drawing in 1963, during the formative years of the now internationally recognized Cape Dorset printmaking program. The daughter of noted graphic artist Sheouak Parr, Mayoreak was first included in the Kinngait annual print collection in 1979 with her boldly coloured, cinematic “First Goose Hunt.” Mayoreak is also recognized as a master carver and she was one of nine featured artists in the 1994 exhibition, “Isumavut: The Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women” held at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.
Mayoreak married renowned carver Kaka Ashoona and lived with him and their three children on an outpost located near Cape Dorset. After Kaka’s death in 1996, Mayoreak relocated to Cape Dorset where she continues to produce prints, drawings, and carvings inspired by her connection to the land and culture.