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QINUAJUA, Sarah Joe

Born
Inukjuak, Quebec, 1917
Died
Povungnituk (?), Quebec, 1986
Biography synopsis
Inuit Artist Sarah Joe Qinuajua (Quinuajua/Kinuajua/Sara/Talirunili/Qinnauajuaq/Nuts/Quinuajuak/Quiuajuak) was a printmaker and sculptor born in Inukjuak, Northern Quebec. Daughter of noted Inuit sculptor and printmaker Joe Putugu Talirunili (c.1895-1976), Qinuajua was one of the earliest artists to use print media in Povungnituk. In the 1930s and 1940s, Qinuajua and her family led a nomadic lifestyle, hunting and fishing to provide food for her family. After settling in Povungnituk (also known as Puvirnituq) in 1959, Qinuajua began developing her abilities as a carver and printmaker. She was one of the first Inuit artists to contribute to the annual print collections between 1964 and 1986. Her oeuvre covers a variety of subject matter, such as tattooed faces, animals, domestic scenes and hunting expeditions. The igloo is a recurring image in many of her works. Qinuajua's artworks have been exhibited across Canada, in France, the United States, and in Belgium. They are featured in the collections of the Canadian Museum of History, the Dennos Museum Centre in Michigan, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Saputik Museum in Povungnituk.
Media used
Drawing
Printmaking
Sculpture
File & Archive locations
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"'We Wouldn't Be Doing What We're Doing if It Weren't for Him': Inuit Recall Being Encouraged to Carve by James Houston." Inuit Art Quarterly 14.3 (Fall 1999): 24-30
Arts and Culture of the North (Organization). Arts and Culture of the North, Volumes 17-26. Madison, Wisconsin: Arts and Culture of the North, 1984
Barz, Sandra B. Canadian Inuit Uncatalogued Prints, Collections and Commissions. New York: Arts and Culture of the North, 1990
Barz, Sandra B. Inuit Artists Print Workbook. New York: Arts and Culture of the North, 1990
Choquette, Philippe. Prolégomènes à une histoire de la gravure contemporaine au Nunavik et étude sémiotique d'un cas en art inuit: Sarah Joe Talirunili Qinuajua. Montréal: Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), 1997
Crandall, Richard C. Inuit Art: A History Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2000
Eber, Dorothy Harley. "Povungnituk Prints: Time for a Second Look." Arts and Culture of the North 4.2 (Spring 1980): 234-235
Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec. Povungnituk Print Collection/Collection de gravures de Povungnituk. [Annual] Canada: Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, (1964-1978, 1980,1982-1986)
Myers, Marybelle Mitchell. Joe Talirunili: 'A Grace Beyond the Reach of Art.' Montreal: Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, 1977
Myers, Marybelle Mitchell. Things Made by Inuit Québec: Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau Québec, 1980
Saucier, Celine. Le refus de l'oubli: Femmes-sculptures du Nunavik. Quebec: L'Instant meme, 1998
Waterman, Jonathan. [Photographs of the family] Arctic Crossing: A Journey Through the Northwest Passage and Inuit Culture. New York: Knopf, 2001
Wight, Darlene Coward. Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006

Writings by
Qinuajua, Sarah Joe & Ivilla, Samisa. Transcript of the Interview With Sarah Joe Talirunili (sic) and Samisa Ivilla. Ottawa: Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, 1985

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