Asinnajaq
Inuk Canadian artist and filmmaker (b. 1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
asinnajaq (born 1991)[2] is a Canadian Inuk visual artist, writer, filmmaker, and curator,[1] from Inukjuak, Quebec.[3] She is most noted for her 2017 film Three Thousand, which received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Short Documentary Film at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards.[4] In 2025, a selection of her photographs were displayed at the National Gallery of Canada after she won the 2024 New Generation Photography Award.[5]
asinnajaq | |
|---|---|
| Born | Isabella Rose Rowan-Weetaluktuk 1991 |
| Citizenship | Inukjuamiut and Canadian |
| Education | Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design[1] |
| Known for | visual artist, writer, filmmaker, and curator |
| Awards | Sobey Award (2020) |
| Website | https://www.lichenolichen.ca/ |
She has also been active as a curator of Inuit art and video projects, including the Canadian pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale[6] and the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.[7]
Early life and education
Isabella Rose Rowan-Weetaluktuk was born in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik in 1991.[8] She completed Bachelor of Fine Arts at Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art in 2015, before completing an MFA film at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax.[1][9] The name asinnajaq is a family name that means "nomadic outlier" in the local Inuktitut dialect. Her mother, Carol Rowan, is a university professor, while her father, Jobie Weetaluktuk, is a filmmaker.[1] Early in her artistic career she assisted her father while he worked on Timuti (2012), a short film based in Inukjuak, the home of their extended family.[10]
Personal life
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.[12] Her short film Upinnaqusittik, made in 2016, premiered at iNuit Blanche, the first ever circumpolar arts festival in St. John's.[13] She directed her award-winning short film Three Thousand in 2017 while working for the National Film Board and drew on their archival film collection for portions of the film's contents.[14]
Curatorial practice
Alongside her artistic work, asinnajaq has led multiple Inuit culture workshops at the McCord Museum[15] with her mother Carol Rowan.[1][16] In 2018, she co-created ᑎᓪᓕᑕᕐᓃᑦ Tilliraniit a three-day film festival celebrating Inuit art presented at FOFA Gallery in Montréal.[17] She was part of the curatorial teams for the Canadian Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale and joined group of other female curators during the opening of the Inuit Art Centre, Qaumajuq, at Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2020.[1][18]
In 2020 asinnajaq received a Sobey Art Award for the entire body of her artistic work.[19]
In 2024, she became the guest curator for the exhibition ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, presenting selections from the museum's collection of Inuit art.[20] That same year, she won the 2024 New Generation Photography Award and had her photographic work displayed in the National Gallery of Canada.[21][5]
Residencies
- daphne art center (2022)[22]
Exhibitions
Curated exhibits
- ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada, 8 November (2024)[20]
- With the Seasons ᓯᓚᐅᑉ ᐊᓯᑦᔨᑕᕐᓂᖓᑕ ᐃᓗᐊᓂ, Visual Arts Centre, Westmount, Canada, 6–28 May (2022)[23]
- INUA, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Qaumajuq, Winnipeg, Canada, Mar 26, 2021 - Feb 12, 2023[24]
Solo exhibits
- ivaluit / sinews / tendons, daphne art centre, Montreal, Canada, March 9 – April 16 (2022) - curator[22]
Group exhibits
- The Structure of Smoke, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (2026)[25]
- 2024 New Generation Photography Award, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 14 February - 1 June (2025)[26]
- femmes volcans forêts torrents, Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada, 11 April - 18 August (2024)[27]
- Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969, Hessel Museum of Art, New York, USA, 24 June – 26 November (2023)[28]
- We Are Story: The Canada Now Photography Acquisition, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, January 28 - July 23 (2023)[29]
- ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ / Ruovttu Guvlui / Towards Home, Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal, Quebec, 1 June (2022) to 26 March (2023)[30]
- Réclamer la terre, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 15 April - 4 September (2022)[31]
- One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark, 23 March - 7 August (2022)[32]
- When Veins Meet Like Rivers; ᑲᑎᓐᓂᖅ / okhížata / maadawaan, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Canada, 21 August - 17 December (2021)[33]
- The Wildflower, Hafnarborg, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland 29 August - 8 November (2020)[34][35]
- Holding on to Universes, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, Scotland, 7 February - 22 March (2020)[36]
- Of Myths and Mountains, The Rooms, St. John's, Canada, 25 January - 12 April (2020)[37]
- May the Land Remember You As You Walk Upon Its Surface, Manitoba Craft Council, Winnipeg, Canada, 10 January - 29 February (2020)[38]
- ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦ ᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ Among All these Tundras, Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada, September 18 - December 7 (2019)[39][18]
- Kaporangi Kiriata: CineMarae, The Arts House Trust, Auckland, New Zealand, 26 June – 22 July (2018)[40]
- INSURGENCE/RESURGENCE, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada, 22 September (2017) - 18 April (2018)[41]
Filmography
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Assistant Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Timuti[42] | No | No | Yes |
| 2015 | Rowan[43] | No | Yes | No |
| 2015 | Salt Stains | No | No | Yes |
| 2016 | Upinnaqusittik (Lucky) [13] | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2017 | Three Thousand | Yes | Yes | No |
| In production | Daniel [11] | Yes | Yes | No |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2023 | Amplify | Director | Directed 2 episodes[44] |
Other work
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Our Ottawa | Self | Short local TV series |
| 2015 | Rowan | Rowan (main role) | Thesis film from NSCAD |
| 2024 | Universal Language | Knitter |
Mentorship and cultural consultation
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Shaman | Cultural script consultant, mentor, trainer | Short film |
| 2021 | Evan's Drum | Mentor | Short film |
| 2021 | Nalujuk Night | Mentor | Short film |
| 2023 | Hebron Relocation | Mentor | Short film |
| 2023 | Miss Campbell: Inuk Teacher | Mentor | Short film |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated Work(s) | Award | Won | Festival/Institution | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All works | Pierre-Ayot Award[45] | Yes | Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC), Ville de Montréal | Canada |
| 2024 | Photography series | 2024 New Generation Photography Award [26] | Yes | National Gallery of Canada | Canada |
| 2020 | All works | Sobey Art Award[19] | Yes | The Sobey Art Foundation | Canada |
| 2019 | Three Thousand | "Ô Canada — Québec, Premières Nations, etc." Program[46] | Yes | Festival international du court métrage | France |
| 2018 | Three Thousand | Best Short Documentary[47] | No | Canadian Screen Awards | Canada |
| 2018 | Three Thousand | Best Indigenous Short Film Award[48] | Yes | Skábmagovat Film Festival | Finland |
| 2018 | Three Thousand | International Indigenous Award[49] | Yes | Wairoa Maori Film Festival | New Zealand-Aotearoa |
| 2017 | Three Thousand | Imagine Native Film and Kent Monkman Award for Best Exposition[50]
|
Yes | Media Arts Festival | Canada |
| 2017 | All works | REVEAL Indigenous Art Award[1] | Yes | The Hnatyshyn Foundation | Canada |