Inuit art in New Jersey and Japan

Inuit Art Traveling the WorldFrom a Nunavut hamlet, to a small New Jersey town, to far-flung Asia, Inuit art is making the rounds in February and March.

A small town right outside Trenton is the unlikely host of a collection of prints and drawings by Inuit artists from the hamlet of Cape Dorset, in Canada, from a studio long known for its art.

Through March 2 an exhibit at the College of New Jersey, “Contemporary Inuit Art from Cape Dorset,” is featuring 26 works by 11 artists from the Kinngait Studio in the hamlet, known as the capital of Inuit art.And:Meanwhile, halfway across the world, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is showcasing Inuit print making in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. “Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration” includes Inuit art from Cape Dorset and gives a nod to James Houston, credited with both introducing Japanese prints to the Arctic 50 years ago (and thus inspiring this particular Inuit art genre) and “discovering” Inuit art.

The exhibit, which will remain in Tokyo until mid-March and then travel the world, explores Japanese influences on Cape Dorset’s print making by displaying rare, early Cape Dorset prints and some of the actual Japanese prints that inspired the Inuit artists.Comment:  For more on the Inuit, see Inuit Theme Song for Flying Wild Alaska and Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change.

Below:  "Kenojuak Ashevek was the first Inuit artist elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art."