First Quarter 2013 - Toronto Pearson International Airport

Arts and Exhibitions
Toronto Pearson is more than just a gateway to the world–it’s a cultural hub. Look
around, take in our extensive art and exhibition program, and see why exploring our
terminals is truly an adventure.
Left photo: Michelle Lewin. Right Photo: Pat Hertzberg.
Telling Betwixt Stories and Between of Inuit Art
Art by the Inuit people of
the Canadian Arctic is exhibited
internationally, has been reproduced
on stamps, and is given as gifts to
heads of state. In other words, it
has become an important Canadian
cultural symbol.
Telling Stories: Inuit Art from Cape
Dorset provides an introduction to
Inuit art and culture. The exhibition
is organized in four sections–Early
Work, Traditional Life, Animals and
Contemporary Life–that provide
some chronological sense of the
development of Inuit art, as well
as introduce some key themes and
sources of inspiration.
Although Inuit art is often
described as beginning in the 1950s,
it was really only a continuation of
a long tradition. But circumstances
had changed. Fewer people lived
a nomadic life, and settlement in
permanent communities combined
with access to full sheets of paper
and drawing materials, produced a
different kind of art. Also, the ability
to generate income from artmaking
encouraged artists to devote time to
that activity.
Memories of traditional life,
observations of animals, and
imaginary scenes appeared with
equal frequency as subjects. Artists
immediately developed distinctive
styles, with some favouring
naturalism and others preferring
more expressionist approaches.
For hundreds of years, traditional
Inuit life was based on hunting and
fishing. Life was semi-nomadic:
people lived on the sea ice in igloos
(snow houses) in the winter and
hunted walrus and seals. In the
summer, they lived in tents and
20 TPT first quarter 2013
www.TorontoPearson.com