Inuit

BORN:
December 20, 1979

BIRTHPLACE:
Cape Dorset, Nunavut

Ningeosiak, or Ning, is a prolific stone carver, and one of the few Inuit female carvers. She began to carve in 1988. Ningeosiak comes from a prominent family of artists. Her grandmother was Pitseolak Ashoona, one of the most famous and prolific Inuit artists well-known for her drawings and prints. Ningeosiak grew up watching her mother, established artist Mayoreak Ashoona, carve. She then learned how to carve from her father, well-known artist Kaka Ashoona. Her brothers, Ohito Ashoona and Otookie Ashoona, are also stone carvers, and her sister, Siassie Kenneally, is a graphic artist. Her first exhibition, Arctic Miniatures, was a solo show at the Albers Gallery of Inuit Art in San Francisco, CA, in 2005. She has since exhibited across Canada. Ningeosiak is known for her delicate and small-scale carvings, often depicting birds such as loons and swans.