Success of Inuit prints in the Parisian area
The sale-exhibition of Inuit prints from the Canadian Arctic, organized within the framework of the International meetings of contemporary print in Val de Loing was inaugurated last May 31st in Souppes-sur- Loing, in Parisian area (France). Eighty-three prints, around thirty sculptures from Kinngait, Panniqtuuq, Puvirnituq and Ulukhaqtuuq, as well as photos and everyday objects are exposed in Souppes-sur-Loing (in the South of Paris) until June 15th, 2008.
More than hundred fifty guests were in the inauguration, among whom of the personalities of the artistic, cultural, political circles. Madam Louise Blais, director of the Canadian Cultural Center in Paris, insisted on the dynamics of the culture Inuit in the Canadian Arctic, while underlining the talent of the Inuit artists and quality of the art works here presented.
Qattaugaq Saila, an Inuk from Kinngait and the famous artist Pitalusi Saila (Pitaloosie Saila)’s daughter, was also present. Student at the Arctic College of Iqaluit (Nunavut) she went to Paris in order to teach inuktitut to the students of the INALCO, Qattaugaq was very touched and proud to see her mother’s and family’s artworks exhibited in France.
For the most part of visitors, that they are art lovers, collectors or simply curious, this exhibition appears as an occasion to discover the nuit culture through the artworks exhibited there. Many people say themselves enchanted and delighted by the artists’ creativity as well as the strength of prints.
The recent prints of the French artist Arne Aullas of Avignon, are also presented. Her work is inspired by her several stays in Puvirnituq between 1985 and 1990, while she worked with the Inuit artists at the local printshop.
Local schools also participated in the project by working on the Inuit culture subject and the children’s realizations are presented on the floor. To mark this event, an inuksuk was built and inaugurated during the inauguration of the exhibition.
Exhibition catalog (contact: art7events@orange.fr) :
Gérard Robin (ed.), 2008, Estamp’Art 77 2008. Art Inuit, texte d’Aurélie Maire, éd. Art Puissance 7 Events, Nemours.
