Inuit Print Art and Its Early Japanese Influences

In the mid-20^th century, a series of fortunate events led to the introduction of Japanese printmaking techniques to the Inuit community of Cape Dorset. In this talk with Dr. Norman Vorano (Queens University), we will hear the story of how these ancient traditions of Japan made their way to the remote Canadian arctic, how Inuit artists built upon these traditions, and the ways in which Inuit printmaking continues to thrive today.

The talk will be immediately followed by a Q+A session with the speaker.

Norman Vorano, a professor of art history at Queen’s University, is a scholar and curator of North American Indigenous Art. He has curated internationally touring exhibition of Inuit art, including Inuit Prints, Japanese Inspiration: Early Printmaking in the Canadian Arctic and Picturing Arctic Modernity: North Baffin Drawings from 1964. He was a curator at the Canadian Museum of History, and is a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellow.

Image Credit:
Kenojuak Ashevak (Kinngait), The Arrival of the Sun, 1962, stonecut print, Image: Canadian Museum of History;
Un’ichi Hiratsuka (Japan), Stone Lantern, 1958, woodblock print, Image: Canadian Museum of History