Pitaloosie Saila ᐱᑕᓗᓯ ᓴᐃᓚ, RCA, E7-1006 (1942-2021), Kinngait, ᑭᙵᐃᑦ/Cape Dorset

Pitaloosie Saila was born in 1942 on the southwest coast of Baffin Island, near today’s community of Cape Dorset. As a child she spent several years in hospitals across Quebec and Ontario receiving treatment for tuberculosis. It was there that she learned English, and she later recalled the challenge of re‑learning her native Inuktitut after returning to Baffin Island in 1957. Consequently, she became one of the few members of her generation fluent in both English and Inuktitut.

She began drawing in the early 1960s and quickly earned a reputation as a versatile, insightful graphic artist. By 1968 her work was a regular fixture in the Kinngait Studios’ annual print collections, establishing her as a familiar presence in the studio.

From the late 1960s onward, Pitaloosie travelled frequently to southern Canada for exhibitions and conferences. In 1967 she spent several weeks in Toronto while her husband, renowned sculptor Pauta Saila, participated in an International Sculpture Symposium. Subsequent visits took her to Halifax, Ottawa, Kansas City, and Vermont. Her career milestones include:

• 1977 – Canada Post issued a stamp featuring her print “Fisherman’s Dream.”

• 1985 – Her lithograph “In the Hills” represented the Northwest Territories in the centennial celebration of Canada’s National Parks.

• 1990 – Amnesty International selected her drawing “Mother and Child” for their Christmas card.

• 1994 – She was one of nine artists highlighted in Isumavut: The Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women, which opened at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Pitaloosie’s work has also been showcased in numerous solo drawing exhibitions. In 2004 she and Pauta were jointly appointed members of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts, recognizing their lifelong contributions to Canadian art. Pauta Saila passed away in Cape Dorset in June 2009 at the age of 93. Pitaloosie passed away in 2021, she was 79.

Nancy Sevoga Kangeryuaq ᓇᓯ ᓯᕗᒐ, E2042, Qamani’tuaq ᖃᒪᓂᑦᑐᐊᖅ/Baker Lake

Kangeryuaq was born in the Kazan River area in 1936. Known also as a sculptor and printmaker, her work was first included in the Baker Lake Annual Print Collection in 1972.  Kangeryuaq’s work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and England.

Nancy's husband is Baker Lake sculptor, print-artist, and print-maker Thomas Sivuraq.

COLLECTIONS: Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada, Michigan, U.S.A. Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Ningeokuluk Teevee, ᓂᒋᐅᑯᓗ ᑎᕕ (1963-) Kinngait, ᑭᙵᐃᑦ/Cape Dorset

Ningeokuluk Teevee (nee Salomonie) was born in 1963 in Cape Dorset to Kanajuk Salomonie (mother) and Joanasie Salomonie (father).

A versatile and insightful graphic artist and writer, Ningeokuluk possesses deep knowledge of Inuit legends and stories. Since 2004 she has been featured annually in the Cape Dorset print collection. Her strong sense of line and form, coupled with an exceptional eye for colour, enables her to convey narratives that bridge traditional and contemporary life in northern Canada.

Ningeokuluk works full‑time for the Department of Housing in Cape Dorset. In her spare moments she dedicates time to her family and to drawing at home. Her husband, Simeonie Teevee, is a musician who performs with his band at community events in Cape Dorset and at music festivals throughout Nunavut.

Her first children’s book, Alego, was shortlisted for the 2009 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature Illustration. Published by Groundwood Books—a division of House of Anansi Press—the autobiographical picture book follows a young girl on a clam‑digging outing with her grandmother, revealing the wonders of the seashore along the way.

Exhibitions:

2014, New Generation – Cape Dorset Drawings, Willock & Sax Gallery

2013, Venture North – Cape Dorset Drawings, Willock & Sax Gallery

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, Cape Dorset Graphics (annual collection - illustrated catalogue)

April – May 2006, Landscape: Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Marion Scott Gallery

Solo Exhibtion:
October 2006, Ningeokuluk Teevee: Drawings, Feheley Fine Arts

Reference: Leslie Boyd Ryan, Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective.  San Francisco: Pomegranate, 2007.