Biography Qavavau Manumie
QAVAVAU MANUMIE (KAVAVAOU; MANOMEE; MUNAMEE; MANNUMI; KAVAVAU)
Date of Birth: September 21, 1958
Place of Birth: Brandon, Manitoba
Resides: Cape Dorset
Mother: Paunichea Mannomee
Father: Davidee Mannomee
Male/Female: Male Brandon,
Qavavau was born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1958 where his mother, Paunichea, was hospitalized for treatment of tuberculosis. He returned to Cape Dorset as a very young child and has lived there since.
Qavavau has demonstrated a range of stylistic abilities over the years – from the very literal to the more expressive. His work is idiosyncratic and often amusing in his depictions of Inuit legends and mythology, Arctic wildlife and contem- porary aspects of Inuit life
Qavavau is the latest among the second generation to attract critical acclaim from the contemporary arts audience in the south. He and Shuvinai Ashoona have been profiled, along with Nick Sikkuark of Gjoa Haven, in the Winnipeg-based arts magazine, Border Crossings. He traveled to Toronto in June of 2008 for his first solo exhibition of original drawings, and in 2009 to Vancouver for another exhibition featuring his contemporary work. He was invited to attend an opening of his work in Victoria in the fall of 2012.
For several years Qavavau has worked for the Kinngait Studios as a printmaker – first in the lithography studio and more recently in the stonecut studio. He is an accomplished and precise printmaker who enjoys the opportunity to demonstrate printmaking techniques to young artists and visitors to the studio.
Qavavau lives with his wife and son Peter in Cape Dorset.
EXHIBITIONS:
1988, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2013,2014,1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,
Cape Dorset Print Collection (Printmaker) (annual collection)
(illustrated catalogue)
1989, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013
Cape Dorset Graphics (annual collection)
(illustrated catalogue)
March 1990
Art Inuit, l’Art des Esquimaux du Canada Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai At Maison Falleur
Cambrai, France
April 1990
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai At Palais de l’Europe
Le Touquet, France
July 1990
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
At Thonon les Bains, France
November – December 1990
Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1990 Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
At Centre Culturel Canadien
Paris, France
March – April 1991
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai At Le Theatre
La Ciotat, France
May 1991
Inuit Music in Art: Singing and Dancing and Playing Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
May – June 1991
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai At La Halle aux Bles
Saint Malo, France
October – December 1991
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai At Galerie Maite Aubert
Le Havre, France
November – December 1991
Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1991 Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
At Le Colombier
Ville D’Avray, France
February – April 1992
Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai At Galerie Montador
Dieppe, France
November 1993 – January 1994
Contemporary Inuit Drawings Muscarelle Museum of Art College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1994
Arctic Spirit
35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art Frye Art Museum
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
September – October 1994
Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo’s Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum Huis Hellemans
Edegem, Belgium
(illustrated brochure)
1998 Annual Graphics Collections Dorset Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario (illustrated catalogue)
June – September 2000
Arctic Spirit – Canadian Inuit Sculpture Boise State University
Boise, Idaho, U.S.A.
February – March 2001
Drawings from Cape Dorset
The Albers Gallery of Inuit Art San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
January 2003
Then and Now – Inuit Prints from 1962 – 2002 Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Ltd.
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated brochure)
March – April 2003
Asingit: Inuit Art from the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Collection, University of Guelph
Naprstek Museum
Prague, Czech Republic
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
March – April 2006
Supernatural: Inuit Fantastic Sculpture Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
December 2006 – January 2007
Small Sculptures by Great Artists Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto Ontario
July – August, 2009
Extreme Drawing
Marion Scott Gallery Vancouver, British Columbia
November – December, 2009
New Views on Old Traditions The Guild Shop
Toronto, Ontario
Oct 2009 – Jan 2010
Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking
National Gallery of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
October, 2009 – January, 2010
The Drawing Room Pendulum Gallery Vancouver British Columbia
July – August 2010
Nunannguaq: In the Likeness of the Earth McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Kleinburg, Ontario
July – August, 2010
The Drawing Room Pendulum Gallery
Vancouver, BC
October, 2009 – April, 2010
Arctic Spirit:
50th Anniversary of Cape Dorset’s Kinngait Studios Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
May – June, 2010
Facing Forward – New Works from Kinngait Studios Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
June – July, 2010
North Meets South Feheley Fine Arts Toronto, Ontario
July – December, 2010
Nipirasait: Many Voices
Inuit Prints from Cape Dorset
The Canadian Embassy Art Gallery Washington, DC
January – May, 2011
Close Encounters: The Next 500 Years Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art Winnipeg, MB
April – May, 2011
Gallery Artists
Marion Scott Gallery Vancouver, British Columbia
September, 2011
Fall Migration:
A Selection of Birds in Sculpture, Prints and Drawings Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
October – November 2011
Surreal: Eight Artists in the Fantastical Tradition Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, Brit1sh Columbia
November, 2011
Contemporary North: Drawings from Cape Dorset Madrona Gallery
Victoria, British Columbia
August – September 2012
Summer Show
Marion Scott Gallery Vancouver, British Columbia
January 2013
Venture North: Drawings from Cape Dorset Willock and Sax Gallery
Banff, Alberta
February – June 2013
Where Do We Come From? What are We? Where are We Going? Identity in Contemporary Cape Dorset Art McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Kleinburg, Ontario
April – June 2013
Dorset Seen
Carleton University Art Gallery Ottawa, Ontario
October – November 2013
The Hand of the Artist Feheley Fine Arts Toronto, Ontario
October – December 2013
Sanaunguabik: Traditions and Transformations in Inuit Art
Enterprise Square Gallery
Edmonton, Alberta
October – December 2013
Cape Dorset Prints Gallery 210
St. Louis, Missouri
November – December 2013
Drawings: Contemporary Perspectives by Cape Dorset Artists
The Canadian Guild of Crafts
Montreal, Quebec
January 2014
Cape Dorset: New Generation Willock and Sax Gallery Banff, Alberta
January – March 2014
Views from the North: Original Drawings from Cape Dorset
Alaska on Madison
New York, New York
January – March 2014
Contemporary Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada
Mendal Gallery
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
March 2014
Arctic Voices Science North Sudbury, Ontario
September – November, 2014
l:ke – I have motion A Space Gallery Toronto, ON
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
April- May 1993
Original Drawings by Kavavaow Mannomee of Cape Dorset
The Issacs/Innuit Gallery
Toronto, Ontario
April – May 1994
Kavavaow Mannomee – Original Drawings The Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
October – November 2003
Kavavaow Mannomee: Drawings The Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Fall 2005
Birds and Spirits: Drawings by Kavavaow Mannomee The Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
June 2008
Kavavau Manumee: A Dialogue
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, ON
(In conjunction with the World Washi Summit)
June – July, 2009
Kavavau Manumee Drawings Marion Scott Gallery Vancouver, British Columbia
COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection 1959 – 1999, Cape Dorset, NU McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, NWT
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Dykk, Lloyd
KAVAVAOW MANNOMEE
www.canadianart.ca/art/reviews/2009/09/01/kavavaow-mannomee
Kardosh, Robert
THE NEW GENERATION; A RADICAL DEFIANCE. Inuit Art Quarterly, Winter 2008.
Karlinsky, Amy
THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS AND DAUGHTERS: CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS. Boarder Crossings, Issue no. 105
Muscarelle Museum of Art (Willamsburg)
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS: The gift collection of Frederick and Lucy S. Herman. Williamsburg,Va.: The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
Nasby, Judith
REVEALING THE TRUTH OF THE ARTIST’S HAND: Contemporary Inuit Drawings. Inuit Art Quarterly: 9 (3), Fall 1994, pp. 4-13.
Ryan, Leslie Boyd
CAPE DORSET PRINTS: A Retrospective, Pomegranate, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.,2007
