There’s a new collection of Inuit art on display in Dorval.
Artists from Nunavik are sharing their work and stories at the Dorval Cultural Centre. The materials in the art pieces are from the Far North like seal skin, caribou antlers and seed beads crafted into unique items that each tell a story.
The installation is called “Northern Lights and Southern Horizons” as it weaves art, culture, and community between the Inuit and the West Island of Montreal.
Nunavik artist Judy Alaku studies visual arts in Ste-Anne de Bellevue. Her sunset self-portrait hangs on display at the exhibit.
“Acrylic is my go to. I make a lot of paintings on canvas. With John Abbott College, I’m exploring more mediums. Different mediums, like sculpture and printmaking,” she says.
Alaku says having experiences in both latitudes reflects in her art.
“It’s like the two worlds colliding. I’m living in the south, but what I’m making is still connected to my culture,” she says.
Projected on the wall of the cultural centre is a stop-motion animation short film made by Courtney Papigatuk about Inuit culture and identity.
She also paints depictions of important moments of her home in Salluit.
“A little slice of life in Nunavik,” she says. “I also paint moments of social injustice. I do political art and I do like more wholesome art and spiritual art as well.”
The collection is curated by Saturviit Inuit Women’s Association of Nunavik, a non-profit organization that strives to be the voice for Inuit women in the region and those who have migrated south.
Dorval is also home to the Ullivik centre where Northerners come to stay while receiving health care. This exhibition is offered as a glimpse of their Nunavik home here in Dorval.
On behalf of the centre, Maude Potvin says “People are really impressed and surprised because it’s still unknown for a lot of people and it’s a strong link to the Ullivik. I think it’s important to people to know the Inuit community and their culture … to understand more of their story.”
Visits are free at the Dorval Cultural Centre until April 21.
