asinnajaq facts for kids

asinnajaq
Born	Isabella Rose Rowan-Weetaluktuk 1991 (1991) Inukjuak, Nunavik
Nationality	Inukjuamiut, Canadian
Education	Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
Known for	visual artist, writer, filmmaker, and curator

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

Besides making her own art, asinnajaq also works as a curator. This means she helps choose and arrange art for exhibitions. She has worked on important projects like the Canadian display at the 58th Venice Biennale. She also helped with the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

About asinnajaq's Early Life

Where asinnajaq Grew Up

Isabella Rose Rowan-Weetaluktuk was born in 1991 in a place called Inukjuak, in Nunavik. The name asinnajaq is a special family name. It means "nomadic outlier" in the local Inuktitut language.

asinnajaq's Family and Education

asinnajaq's mother, Carol Rowan, is a university professor. Her father, Jobie Weetaluktuk, is a filmmaker. asinnajaq followed in her father's footsteps and studied film. She went to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax.

She helped her father make his film Timuti in 2012. This film was made in Inukjuak, where their family lives. asinnajaq's uncle, Daniel Weetaluktuk, was the first Inuk archeologist in Canada. She is making a short film about him called Daniel.

asinnajaq's Film Work

What Inspires asinnajaq's Films

asinnajaq's art is inspired by important ideas. She cares deeply about human rights. She also loves to explore her Inuit heritage through her work. She spends a lot of time researching and working with others on her projects.

Notable Films by asinnajaq

In 2016, she made a short film called Upinnaqusittik. It was shown for the first time at iNuit Blanche. This was the first art festival for people from all around the Arctic. In 2017, she directed her film Three Thousand. She made this film while working for the National Film Board, using their old film collections.

asinnajaq as a Curator

What a Curator Does

A curator is someone who helps organize art exhibitions. They choose the artworks and decide how they will be shown. asinnajaq does this alongside her own art.

asinnajaq's Curatorial Projects

She has led workshops about Inuit culture at the McCord Museum with her mother. asinnajaq was also part of the team that organized the Canadian display at the 2019 Venice Biennale. This is a very big international art show. In 2020, asinnajaq received a Sobey Art Award, which is a major award for young Canadian artists.

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

Where asinnajaq Lives

asinnajaq currently lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Awards and Recognitions

asinnajaq has received several awards and nominations for her work:

• In 2019, her work was part of the "Ô Canada — Québec, Premières Nations, etc." Program at a film festival in France.
• In 2018, she won the Best Indigenous Short Film Award at the Skábmagovat Film Festival in Finland.
• Also in 2018, she received the International Indigenous Award at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in New Zealand.
• In 2017, her film was part of the Short and Medium Length Competition at the Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal in Canada.
• In 2017, she won the Imagine Native Film and Kent Monkman Award for Best Exposition at the Media Arts Festival in Canada.
• Also in 2017, she received the Indigenous Art Award from REVEAL in Canada.