Headshot of Kablusiak. Photo by Cinci Studio.

Up Front: Inuit Public Art at Onsite Gallery

April 29 to October 15, 2022
Curated by Ryan Rice
Please see our website for more information.

Onsite Gallery, OCAD University
199 Richmond St. W. Toronto

Kablusiak. Up Front, 2022, Installation View.

About Up Front
In partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation (IAF), Onsite Gallery presents Up Front, a new series of commissioned digital murals by Inuit artists. Onsite Gallery recognizes the important contributions of the Inuit art sector and is pleased to work with the IAF to support Inuit art and artists in the public realm. This new series of public art murals of digital art will be displayed on the exterior façade of the gallery. Produced in vinyl, four Inuit artists will be commissioned over two years to create these public digital art pieces.

The Inuit Art Foundation (IAF) is the only national organization supporting Inuit artists in all medias and geographic areas. It empowers and supports Inuit artists’ self-expression and self-determination through its many platforms, including the Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), Canada’s largest art magazine, the IAQ Profiles, artist services, awards, scholarships and mentorship opportunities.

Left to Right: Kablusiak. Furby Ookpik, 2021, Rabbit fur, felt, fibre fill, + embroidery floss, 5.5 x 5.75 x 4.5 in. Kablusiak. Plucked Ookpik, 2021, Felt, fibre fill + embroidery floss, 5.5 x 3.5 x 5.5 in.

Artist Biography
Kablusiak is an Inuvialuk artist/curator who uses Inuk ingenuity to create work in a variety of mediums including, but not limited to, lingerie, soapstone, Sharpies, bedsheets, felt, and words.

Their work explores the dis / connections between existence in Inuit diaspora while maintaining family and community ties, the impacts of colonization on Inuit gender and sexuality expressions, as well as on health, wellbeing, and the everyday.

Kablusiak holds a BFA from Alberta University of Arts in Mohkinstsis, where they are currently based. Their work can be found in the collections of the Indigenous Art Centre, the Art Gallery of Alberta, and Global Affairs Visual Art Collection among others.

To learn more about Kablusiak and their work, visit their website: norberghall.com/portfolio/kablusiak

About Onsite Gallery
www.ocadu.ca/onsite

Onsite Gallery, the flagship professional gallery of OCAD University, offers powerful, thought-provoking exhibitions of art, design and new media to stimulate conversations on critical issues facing Toronto and the world.

Gallery Hours
Wednesday to Friday: 12 to 7 p.m.
Saturday: 12 to 5 p.m.

Gallery admission and all events are free.

Onsite Gallery is an accessible venue with all gender, single user washrooms.
» Detailed accessibility information found here

Please note: masks & proof of full COVID-19 vaccination is required for entry.

About OCAD University (OCAD U)
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca) is Canada’s university of the imagination. Founded in 1876, the university is dedicated to art, design and digital media education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines.

Contact Information:
Susan Jama
Programs & Community Coordinator, Onsite Gallery
susanjama@ocadu.ca

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