Visual artist and author born in Maniitsoq (Greenland) in 1946.
Germaine Arnaktauyok was born in 1946 in Maniitsoq, Greenland and moved to an Inuit camp near Igloolik, in present-day Nunavut at a young age. During her childhood, her family practiced the traditional way of life. Her parents, Thérèse Nattok and Isidore Iytok, were carvers and had eight children; Germaine was the third. When she was just under ten years old, she was sent to a residential school in Chesterfield Inlet (Nunavut; Inuktitut: Igluligaajuk), where she remained for seven years, returning home only in the summer. An employee of the school recognized her artistic talent and gave her lessons which improved her skills and resulted in the sale of her first work at the age of eleven.
In 1976, Germaine Arnaktauyok married and gave birth to her daughter Amber. For around ten years, the family lived in Langley, British Columbia. The couple divorced in 1989, and Germaine Arnaktauyok moved to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
From a very young age, Germaine Arnatktauyok displayed an inclination towards drawing. In an interview with the Canada Council for the Arts in 2020, she stated: “When I was a child, it seemed natural for me to make art. I can remember drawing on gum wrappers and any bits and pieces of paper I could find. I never questioned being an artist.” In the 1960s, she studied art in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Ottawa, Ontario. From 1969 to 1974, she worked in Iqaluit, Nunavut, at the Frobisher Bay Arts and Crafts Centre. After a move to Yellowknife, she was hired by the Department of Education to illustrate books and learning materials. In 1976, she paused her work to concentrate on family life; after her divorce in 1989, she returned to Yellowknife and resumed her artistic career.
Germaine Arnaktauyok is an acclaimed and prolific visual artist. Her practice includes drawing, engraving, lithography, and silkscreen printing. Many of her works are preserved and exhibited in museums such as the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the British Museum (London, UK). Germaine Arnaktauyok has stated that she derives inspiration from Inuit myths and legends. As a child, her grandfather often told her traditional stories, but she draws most of her knowledge of the myths and legends of her region from the works of Greenlandic explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933).
In the 1970s, she participated in the production of two Inuit animated films directed by Co Hoedman: The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend (1971) for which she designed the puppets and set; and The Owl and the Raven: An Eskimo Legend (1973) for which she created the puppets along with Alootook Ipellie, a Nunavummiut (“of Nunavut”) illustrator and author who also created the set.
In the literary world, Germaine Arnaktauyok is best known for her work as a book illustrator. She has illustrated several children’s books such as Tuniit (2017) by Rebecca Hainnu and Those That Cause Fear (2016) by Neil Christopher. She has also illustrated more than a dozen books for adults such as The Harpoon of the Hunter (1970) by Markoosie, ᑕᑲᓐᓈᓗᒃ, Takananaluk (2018) by Herve Panic, and Unikkaaktuat: An Introduction to Inuits Myths and Legends by Neil Christopher, Noel McDermott and Louise Flaherty. In 2020, this last book was the basis for a multidisciplinary production entitled Unikkaaktuat, which toured in several Canadian cities. Since the performance was directly inspired by Germaine Arnaktauyok’s illustrations, she participated in the project as a consultant and illustrator and assisted with the staging. In 2015, Germaine Arnaktauyok co-authored, with Gyu Ho, My Name is Arnaktauyok: The Life and Art of Germaine Arnaktauyok, which contains the story of her life, artistic commentary on her creations, and around 100 of her illustrations.
In 1999, Germaine Arnaktauyok’s silkscreen print The Drummer was selected by the Royal Canadian Mint for the creation of a two-dollar coin in honour of the foundation of Nunavut. The following year, she designed a one-hundred-dollar note as part of the Native Cultures and Traditions series.
For her overall work, Germaine Arnaktauyok was awarded the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts by the Canada Council for the Arts in February 2021. The Council stated that “Arnaktauyok’s rich and beautifully colored drawings depict a kaleidoscope of her heritage, ranging from astronomy to mythology to the philosophy of forgotten times.”
Today, Germaine Arnaktauyok continues to create artworks and lives in Yellowknife.