As fans of Kinngait (Cape Dorest) prints know, those prints started as drawings.
But for every drawing selected for printing, many more were created, but never printed. And those that were printed were often selected and modified based on their potential appeal to buyers in the south. While this allowed the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative to develop a profitable business, it also meant that those of us in the south only saw the art Cooperative managers thought would most appeal to us. There are thousands of wonderful images the public never saw.
Until now.
In 1990 the Cooperative transferred its drawing archive to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection to maintain and manage in trust. Between 2019 and 2023, the entire collection was digitized. 200 of those prints are currently on display at the McMichael. But that’s just a drop in the proverbial bucket.
Want to see many more?
Now you can.
The digital archive is available online
All those images in the digital drawing archive (and more) are being uploaded to a website called Iningat Ilagiit, which means “a place for family.” The site is available in Inukitut, English, and French.
Currently, the site includes drawings created in Kinngait between 1958 and 1997. Some include descriptions written by Kinngait high school students. However, most just have very basic info abut the piece and the artist.
And, if this wealth of drawings weren’t enough, it appears the archive will eventually expand to include prints and photographs as well.
The archive is available online at www.iningatilagiit.ca.
On my computer I couldn’t figure out how to use the site without registering. My spouse had no trouble accessing it on his phone. Not sure if that means the desktop and mobile sites work differently, or if I’m just clueless when it comes to technology. But once I registered I apparently had 79,558 drawings available for immediate viewing.
You can search for work by a particular artist, media type, year, or by tags like “dogs,” “birds,” “mythical,” and many more. If you have registered and you find an image that particularly appeals to you, you can mark it with a star to add to your own digital “collection” or “exhibit” on the site.
Both of us found the site a little clunky to use, but it’s an amazing resource. Just be aware of how much is here — it is overwhelming. You can easily spend hours on the site and keep finding wonderful things. Looking for images by a particular artist? You’ll find more than 1900 entries for Kenojuak Ashevak. Try a theme like “dogs” and you’ll find over 1100 entries. But once you’ve created a collection for yourself or an exhibition to share, you can easily return and enjoy those images over and over again. It’s the next best thing to having them on your wall!
What are you waiting for? Head over to Iningat Ilagiit and check it out for yourself!