The Dancing Drum Spirit. 1992. By Manasie Akpaliapik.
One of the best free things to do in Toronto is to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario on Wednesday nights. AGO has extensive collections of art through the ages from The Renaissance to Contemporary, and from all corners of the world.
One of the most fascinating is the art of Canada's northern indigenous people, the Inuit (which people from outside Canada usually refer to as Eskimos).
Manasie Akpaliapik is a renowned Canadian Inuit sculptor.
Born on Baffin Island in Canada's far north in 1955, Akpaliapik grew up in the Arctic Bay before moving south to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto where he worked since the 1980s.
The foundations of Akpaliapik's craft were laid by watching his parents and adoptive grandparents carve while they recount Inuit legends.
Akpaliapik's works are sculpted from bone, ivory, and stone from his rugged icy homeland. They depict human and animal forms connected with traditional beliefs and struggles of his people. Akpaliapik's works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
This is part of the collection at AGO in Toronto.
Two sides of Respecting the Circle. Created in 1989.
Details of Respecting the Circle.
Shaman Muskox. 1995-96.
Shaman. 1992.
Two sides of Suicide Story. 1992.
Detail from The Dancing Spirit. 1992.
Shaman Calling his Spirit Helpers. 1988. Looked like it is carved from a whale vertebra (spine bone).
👉 Not many of us may have the chance to visit the Arctic but at least we can have a chance to experience their art and culture by visiting the work of renowned Inuit artist Manasie Akpaliapik at AGO Art Gallery of Ontario.
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 1G4
Check AGO's official website for full gallery hours 👈
Date: 29 Mar 2017
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