Tim Pitsiulak (1967 – 2016) was the inaugural participant in the Inuit Artist Creative Residency Program at Open Studio, an initiative presented in partnership with Dorset Fine Arts. During his two-week residency, Pitsiulak created two screenprint editions based on his iconic Arctic wildlife drawings. Pitsiulak was involved in the arts and various forms of artistic expression for many years. He began to draw in his youth and later took up carving. Born 1967 in Kimmirut, Pitsiulak was a resident of Cape Dorset for several years and worked out of the local Kinngait Studios. The land and its wildlife influenced his realist drawing style but he also became a chronicler of the everyday, with large format depictions of boats, heavy equipment and airplanes – the machinery of modern life in Cape Dorset. His career as an artist was a feature in the 2012 summer issue of The Walrus magazine. Pitsiulak was commissioned by Cadillac Fairview’s TD Centre in Toronto to produce a major new work and he has a coin design in circulation with the Royal Canadian Mint.
This initiative was generously supported by the Government of Nunavut through its Community Tourism and Cultural Industries Program.