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Kiawak Ashoona (also known as Kiugak), OC, RCA, sculptor (born 16 September 1933 in Tariugajak, NU; died 2014). Son of renowned Inuit artist Pitseolak Ashoona, Kiawak Ashoona recounted that his own prodigious artistic career began in his childhood, while the family was still living at a camp on the land. Ashoona’s recognitions include a Molson Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts and an National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire Award). He was an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Career
Kiawak Ashoona’s first carving, made from walrus tusk, was taken by his brother Qaqaq Ashoona to exchange for supplies at the Baffin Trading Company. While focusing on typical Inuit subject matter — people engaged in traditional activities, and events and characters from traditional stories — Kiawak Ashoona earned his reputation as an artist for the dramatic power and formal beauty of his work. His sculpture of the Inuit sea goddess Sedna was featured on a 1980 Canadian stamp. One of his sculptures was presented to US president Ronald Reagan in 1988, and he was inducted to the Order of Canada in 1999 and the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2003.
Awards
- National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire Award) (1997)
- Officer, Order of Canada (1999)
- Molson Prize, Canada Council for the Arts (2000)
- Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
- Member, Royal Canadian Academy of Art (2003)
- Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)
