asinnajaq facts for kids

asinnajaq (born in 1991) is a talented Inuk artist from Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada. She is a visual artist, writer, filmmaker, and curator. She is well-known for her 2017 film, Three Thousand. This film was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary Film.

She also helps organize art shows and video projects. For example, she worked on the Canadian display at the 58th Venice Biennale. She also helped with the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

About asinnajaq

Her Early Life and School

Isabella Rose Rowan-Weetaluktuk was born in Inukjuak, Nunavik, in 1991. The name asinnajaq is a family name. It means "nomadic outlier" in the local Inuktitut language. This means someone who travels a lot and is a bit different.

Her mother, Carol Rowan, is a university professor. Her father, Jobie Weetaluktuk, is a filmmaker. asinnajaq studied film at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax.

She helped her father make his film Timuti (2012). This film was made in Inukjuak, where their family lives. She is also the niece of Daniel Weetaluktuk. He was the first Inuk archaeologist in Canada. asinnajaq is making a short film about him called Daniel.

Her Films

asinnajaq gets ideas for her art from human rights. She also explores her Inuit background. She likes to do research and work with others.

Her short film Upinnaqusittik (2016) was shown at iNuit Blanche. This was the first art festival for people living around the North Pole. While working for the National Film Board, she made her film Three Thousand in 2017. She used old films from their archives for this project.

Her Work as a Curator

Besides making her own art, asinnajaq also leads workshops. She teaches about Inuit culture at the McCord Museum with her mother.

asinnajaq was part of the team that organized the Canadian display at the 2019 Venice Biennale. In 2020, she won a Sobey Art Award.

In 2024, asinnajaq was a special curator for an art show. It was called ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik: essence of life. This show was at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. She chose pieces from the museum's collection of Inuit art.

Where She Lives

asinnajaq currently lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Awards and Nominations

asinnajaq has won several awards for her work:

• 2019: "Ô Canada — Québec, Premières Nations, etc." Program at the Festival international du court métrage in France.
• 2018: Best Indigenous Short Film Award at the Skábmagovat Film Festival in Finland.
• 2018: International Indigenous Award at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in New Zealand—Aotearoa.
• 2017: Short and Medium Length Competition at the Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal in Canada.
• 2017: Imagine Native Film and Kent Monkman Award for Best Exposition at the Media Arts Festival in Canada.
• 2017: Indigenous Art Award at REVEAL in Canada.