Asinnajaq
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asinnajaq (born 1991) is a Canadian
Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...
visual artist, writer, filmmaker, and curator, from
Inukjuak Inukjuak (, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the in Nunavik, in the region of northern Quebec, Canada. Its population is 1,821 as ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. She is most noted for her 2017 film '' Three Thousand'', which received a
Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...
nomination for Best Short Documentary Film at the
6th Canadian Screen Awards The 6th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 11, 2018, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2017.
. She has also been active as a curator of
Inuit art Inuit art, also known as Eskimo art, refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive. Historically, their preferred medium was walrus ivory, but si ...
and video projects, including the Canadian pavilion at the
58th Venice Biennale The 58th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between May and November 2019. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Ralph Rugoff curated its central exhibition, ''May You ...
and the Inuit Art Centre at the
Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...
.


Early life and education

Isabella Rose Rowan-Weetaluktuk was born in Inukjuak, Nunavik in 1991. The name ''asinnajaq'' is a family name that means “nomadic outlier” in the local
Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...
dialect. Her mother, Carol Rowan, is a university professor, while her father, Jobie Weetaluktuk, is a filmmaker. She studied film at the
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), is a public university, public art school, art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution tha ...
at the university in Halifax.  She assisted her father on ''Timuti'' (2012), a film he made in
Inukjuak Inukjuak (, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the in Nunavik, in the region of northern Quebec, Canada. Its population is 1,821 as ...
, home of their extended family. She is the niece of Daniel Weetaluktuk, the first Inuk archeologist in Canada, who is the subject of her upcoming short film ''Daniel''.


Film career

Through her artistic work, asinnajaq draws her inspiration from the notion of respect for human rights, and the desire to explore her Inuit heritage. Her practice is grounded in research and collaboration. Her short film ''Upinnaqusittik'', made in 2016, premiered at iNuit Blanche, the first ever circumpolar arts festival in St. John's. While working for the
National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
, drawing on their archives, she directed her film ''Three Thousand'' in 2017.


Curatorial practice

Alongside her artistic work, she has led Inuit culture workshops at the
McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum, formerly known as the McCord Museum of Canadian History, is a public research and teaching museum. The Museum’s Archives, Documentary Art, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, Indigenous Cultures, Material Culture and Photogr ...
with her mother. Asinnajaq was also part of the curatorial team at the Canadian Pavilion at the 2019
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
. In 2020 Asinnajaq received a
Sobey Art Award The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under w ...
. In 2024, asinnajaq became the guest curator for the exhibition ''ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life'' at the
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...
, presenting selections from the museum's collection of Inuit art.


Personal

asinnajaq is currently based out of
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. 


Awards and nominations


References

{{Authority control 1991 births Living people 21st-century Canadian artists 21st-century Canadian women artists 21st-century Inuit artists 21st-century Inuit women 21st-century Inuit people Canadian women film directors Canadian art curators Canadian Inuit women Inuit filmmakers Artists from Quebec Film directors from Quebec Inuit from Quebec Canadian women curators Canadian contemporary artists