Jessie Oonark

Jessie Oonark was a prolific textile and graphic artist from Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU. Born in the Back River area in 1906, Oonark and her family were members of the Utkusiksalingmiut and lived a traditional Inuit lifestyle. Oonark learned how to process caribou and sealskins and to sew clothing and parkas. Much of Oonark’s early life was focused on survival and family. Married according to Inuit tradition when she was fourteen years old, she had many children with her husband before being widowed in 1953. Following her husband’s death, Oonark and her two unmarried children were relocated to Qamani’tuaq after a period of starvation due to changing caribou migration patterns and food shortages in the 1950s. Once in Qamani’tuaq, Oonark, a talented seamstress, was encouraged to pursue drawing and other graphic art forms and was given studio space, along with a small salary, to continue her art.
Quickly gaining recognition, Oonark’s drawings were sent to Kinngait (Cape Dorset) for printing and a number were included in the 1960 and 1961 print editions there. Notably, Oonark remains the only outsider to be featured in such collections. Likely influenced by their mother’s art, Oonark’s eight surviving children are gifted artists as well: Janet Kigusiuq Uqayuittuq (drawer, printmaker, and textiles), Victoria Mamnguqsualuq Kayuryuk (silkscreen and stencil), Josiah Nuilalik (sculptor), Nancy Pukirniq, Miriam Qiyuq (wall hanging and sculptor), Peggy Qablunaaq Aittauq (sculptor), Mary Yussipik, and William Noah (stencil and watercolour).
Oonark has achieved several accolades throughout her career and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1975. She was also named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1984.