Annie Pootoogook

Annie Pootoogook was born on May 11, 1969, in Cape Dorset (now Kinngait), Canada. Pootoogook grew up in a family of artists all of whom worked out of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, one of the first artist Co-ops established in the north in 1960.[2] Her family worked in multiple mediums and styles and Pootoogook became interested in art at an early age. Her mother, Napachie Pootoogook, was a draftswoman and her father, Eegyvudluk Pootoogook, was a printmaker and stone sculptor. Pootoogook was the granddaughter of Pitseolak Ashoona a renowned graphic artist, the niece of printmaker Kananginak Pootoogook and the cousin of draftswoman Shuvinai Ashoona.[3]

Pootoogook began making art in 1997 at the age of 28. She developed her skills working alongside family members and Elders at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative in Cape Dorset, Nunavut.[3] In her early career she was often told by the Co-op studio managers that her works about contemporary Inuit life, commenting on consumerism and southern influences in the north, would not sell because they went against the prevailing themes that the Co-op deemed to be of interest to the southern art market - namely, images from Inuit mythology or scenes from nature.[2]

The 2000s were Pootoogook's most productive years. She had two exhibitions at Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto.[4] The director of the gallery, Patricia Feheley, was the first dealer to showcase Pootoogook's work, initially in a group exhibition titled The Unexpected in 2001, and later, in a solo show titled Annie Pootoogook—Moving Forward: Works on Paper in 2003.[5] This was her first solo exhibition and was important for her career because it made her name more widely known. It was between 2001 and 2007 that Pootoogook was the most prolific in her art making. During this time, she drew intimate home interior scenes depicting alcoholism, violence, and domestic abuse, the everyday experiences of a woman living in the Canadian north, the hardships faced by northern communities, and the impact of technology on traditional Inuit life. Pootoogook solidified her style and content during this period beginning to draw images that could be easily attributed to her.

After an extremely successful, eponymously named, solo show at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, in 2006, Pootoogook started to gain national attention outside of the art world and Inuit art market.[2] She attended the important Glenfiddich Artists in Residence program, in Dufftown, Scotland. It was her first time out of the country and working outside of the regular hours of the Kinngait Studio. She found the experience isolating, but she produced a number of rich and important works while there. She worked as an independent artist during this period, leaving the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative in 2001.[2]

In 2006, after her residency, Pootoogook was named the first Inuk recipient of the prestigious Sobey Art Award.[2] A new category was even created in order for her to be nominated: "Prairies & the North". In addition to the prize winnings of $50,000, Pootoogook received a show at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. With the new public recognition of her work and winnings, Pootoogook decided to stay in Montreal. She had a difficult time there without the support of the Co-op and her community.[2] Although she returned to Kinngait for a few months, she soon moved south again, this time to the nation's capital, Ottawa, in hopes of more success.[2] Pootoogook produced drawings documenting her life in the city, such as Annie and Andre (2009).[6] In Ottawa, she worked with other Inuit artists and exhibited her drawings at SAW Gallery.[7]

Over the course of her career, she created over 1,000 works on paper and it was during this time that she began to be recognized as an artist outside of the Inuit community.[8]

Pootoogook had her first major solo exhibition in 2006 when her work was displayed as part of a well-received show at The Power Plant in Toronto, Ontario.[10] The exhibition, designed by Nancy Campbell, focused on mythology, Inuit communities and difficulties of life in the Arctic.[4]

In November 2006 she won the Sobey Art Award and was granted the prize of $50,000 (CDN).[11] The Sobey Award is granted to an artist who is 39 years of age or younger and has shown their work in a public or commercial gallery in Canada in the past 18 months, at the time of their application. The press release announcing Pootoogook's win noted that "her work reflects both the current moment of a specific tradition and of a contemporary drawing practice."[11]

After winning the Sobey Award she continued to receive exposure. She exhibited in major art shows such as the Biennale de Montreal, Art Basel and Documenta 12. Pootoogook was the first Inuit artist to participate in Documenta – an exhibition of contemporary art held in Kassel, Germany.[12]

From 2009 to 2010 her work was shown in solo exhibitions at multiple galleries including the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, (Kingston, Ontario), the National Museum of the American Indian, (Washington, D.C.) and the George Gustav Heye Centre, (Manhattan, New York). In 2010 her work was also exhibited at the Biennale of Sydney.

Pootoogook participated in one her last exhibitions in 2012 at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated by Denise Markonish, the exhibition titled Oh, Canada, showcased 62 Canadian artists including the work of Pootoogook's cousin Shuvinai Ashoona.[13][14][15] Pootoogook was the only professional artist from the Ottawa region represented in the exhibition.

On November 7, 2021 the Annie Pootoogook Park was dedicated to the artist. This park is located next to the Sandy Hill Community Centre and the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa, Ontario. The dedication ceremony, held on International Inuit Day, was attended by several members of Pootoogook's family, including her nine-year-old daughter, Inuit elders and Canada's first Inuk Governor General, Mary Simon.[16]

Annie Pootoogook drowned in the Rideau River in Ottawa on September 19, 2016, in what police declared as a suspicious death.[21][4][22] Her body was a short walk from the shelter she had been staying in at the time.[23] Two autopsies determined her cause of death to have been drowning, though it was never declared if somebody else had intentionally killed her.[24]

After her death, the lead investigator on the case, Sergeant Chris Hrnchiar posted online comments that were condemned and labelled as racist, commenting that it was likely Pootoogook's death was due to alcoholism or drug abuse because of her ethnicity.[2][22] He preemptively declared "it's not a murder case" on social media.[23] An investigation into Hrnchiar's conduct was undertaken as a result.[9] In November 2016, Hrnchiar pleaded guilty to two counts of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act, and for making comments on an open investigation.[2][22]

Annie Pootoogook's body was sent back to Cape Dorset where a funeral was held in her home village.[3] The service was performed entirely in her native language of Inuktitut. Pootoogook's youngest daughter was able to go the funeral and this was the first time she met her extended Inuit family.[3]

• Allen, Jan. Annie Pootoogook: Kinngait Compositions. Kingston, ON: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 2011. ISBN 9781553392606
• Burant, Jim. Ottawa Art & Artists: An Illustrated History. Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2022. ISBN 978-1-4871-0289-0
• Campbell, Nancy. Annie Pootoogook: cutting ice = Ini Putugu: tukistittisimavuq takusinnggittunik. Fredericton, NB: Goose Lane Editions with McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 2017. ISBN 9781773100692
• Campbell, Nancy. Annie Pootoogook: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2020. ISBN 9781487102333.