Born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1958, Qavavau Manumie was raised in Kinngait. Recognized as one of the most gifted printmakers of his generation, he is also distinguished by his surreal ink-and-pencil drawings. His work is marked by a striking stylistic and thematic diversity.

Qavavau Manumie’s imaginative drawings—imbued with humor and whimsy—offer both literal and symbolic depictions of Inuit legends and mythology, Arctic wildlife, and the contemporary realities of life in the North, particularly in relation to climate change. In this delightfully surprising universe, animals, humans, and hybrid creatures interact in unlikely, off-kilter, and absurd scenarios. Animals take center stage, often occupying the focal point of the composition, while human figures orbit around them, symbolizing an egalitarian relationship.

Across his oeuvre, Qavavau unfolds a vibrant bestiary that celebrates, exhaustively, the richness and diversity of Arctic fauna. Orcas, caribou, polar bears, narwhals, belugas, hares, fish, gulls, and other creatures are elevated under his hand to the status of sacred figures—on par with Inuit gods and goddesses. Like icons or holy representations, these animals are typically presented without narrative or landscape context, isolated against neutral backgrounds. Through this aesthetic choice, Manumie underscores the importance and sanctity of beings threatened by climate change.

SELECT Solo & Group Exhibitions

• A Place and Time to Become Wise, Rivalry Projects, Buffalo, NY, 2026. Exhibition organized in collaboration with Trotter&Sholer, New York, NY and Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario

• Natchiq | Onkeehq | Isuwiq: Indigenous Artists Honor the Seal, RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island, 2026

• Reawakening, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2023

• The Uses of Enchantment: Art and Environmentalism, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario, 2023

• Collaborative Drawings from the Kinngait Studios, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, 2023

• New Inuit Art, National Ethnographic Museum, Warsaw, Poland, 2022

• Icons & Constellations, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2021

• Across the Turtle’s Back: The Kampelmaster Memorial Collection of Indigenous Art, Mackenzie Art Gallery Regina, Saskatchewan, 2017

• Cold Dream, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2016

• Floe Edge: Contemporary Art and Collaborations From Nunavut, Canada Gallery, Canada House, London, United Kingdom, 2016

• Contemporary Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada, Mendal Gallery Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 2014

• Arctic Spirit: 50th Anniversary of Cape Dorset’s Kinngait Studios, Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto, Ontario, 2010