Photo by Lisa GravesI am an interdisciplinary artist, who is also Inuk, born and raised in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut (Labrador). I hold a BFA in Studio Arts and Art History (With Distinction) from Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) where I am currently based. I am currently an MFA candidate, in Fibres and Material Practices, also at Concordia University, Montreal.
My words and works have been published in Canadian Art, Inuit Art Quarterly, and Inuktitut Magazine; exhibited at La Guilde, The Rooms, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. I have two coin designs that were minted by the Royal Canadian Mint, and I have been long listed for the Sobey Art Award, (2024) in the newly introduced Circumpolar Category.
I consider myself to be a maker of things, rooted deep in the world of necessity and scarcity of my younger, formative years, believing that all materials have creative potential. I find joy and confidence in figuring out how to bring my ideas to life, using unconventional media.
To continue exploring the unconventional, I am faced with several questions: What is the difference between Art and Craft? What is Inuit Art? What is the definitive marker? What role do I play in these definitions? What do the roles of sexuality and gender play in the traditional forms of what was defined as Inuit Art? What can one such as myself do to subvert the colonial narrative?
As I transform as an artist, these are questions that I now have the courage to ask myself, and present the beginning of an answer.
As always, I am inspired by stories from elders and my connection to my heritage, culture, and the many lives that I have lived. These inspirations, alongside conversations with fellow artists and people of the Circumpolar world, is allowing me the privilege to create an ongoing body of work that is an exploration.
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Solo & Duo
Time and Tide, La Guilde, Montreal, QC (July 25 - September 21, 2024)Nunatsiavut Storytelling: Liminal Spaces, Art History Vitrine, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (June - September 2019)
Group
Creation Stories, Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone: DRAC – Art actuel Drummondville, Drummondville, QC (March 23 - May 16, 2024); Stewart Hall Art Gallery, Pointe-Claire, QC (April 27 - June 23, 2024); Art Mûr, Montreal, QC (May 4 - June 22, 2024); EXPRESSION, Centre d’exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe, QC (June 8 - September 8, 2024).The Time is Now and Yesterday and Tomorrow, The Indigenous Art Centre Gallery, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, ON (November 6, 2019 - January 10, 2020)
Memory Keepers III, NSCAD Treaty Space Gallery, Halifax, NS (October 16, 2019)
Memory Keepers I, 4th SPACE, Montreal, QC (October 3, 2019)
Nunatsiavut | Our Beautiful Land, La Guilde canadienne des métiers d’art, Montreal, QC (October 3 - November 24, 2019)
Memory Keepers I, FoFA Gallery, Montreal, QC (March 2, 2019)
Braiding our Stories: First Voices Week Exhibition, VAV Gallery, Montreal, QC (February 4-15, 2019)
SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, St. John’s, NL (October 7, 2016 – January 15, 2017) [Touring: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (2017); Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg MB (2018); Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina AB (2019), Art Gallery of Windsor (2019)]
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Memorial University of Newfoundland
The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery
Government of Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
Rigolet Inuit Community Government
Private Collections
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Sobey Art Award Longlist (2024)
Kajungiqsaut Grant - Tuuragaq (2023)
Indspire Building Brighter Futures Bursary (2023)
R. Patterson Scholarship for Aboriginal Students (2021 - 2023)
Neysmith Family Undergraduate Bursary (2019 - 2020)
Indspire Building Brighter Futures Bursary (2018)
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Master of Fine Arts, Fibres and Material Practices, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (Present)
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Arts and Art History (with distinction), Concordia University, Montreal, QC (2023)
Geological Exploration/Field Technician (with honours), Keyin-Technical College, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL (1996)
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Online Art Instructor | Taking IT Global, Connected North (2021-present)
Graphic Design Apprentice | Sébastien Aubin, Otami Inc., Montreal, QC (2019)
Engraving Workshop | La Guilde canadienne des métiers d'art, Montréal, QC (2019)
Research Assistant | Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq / Pijariuqsarniq Project, Concordia University, Montréal, QC (2018-2023)
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Jason Sikoak and Mina Campbell, “Out on the Bay,” Canadian Art 37, no. 3, Winter 2021: 38-41.
Jason Sikoak, “Amber Webb: Midnight Snack,” Inuit Art Quarterly 34, no. 4 Winter 2021: 22-23.
Jason Sikoak, “Shiwak to Sikoak: Taking Back My True Surname,” IAQ Online, November 13, 2020.
Jason Sikoak, “How Alootook Ipellie’s Art Influenced Jason Sikoak,” IAQ Online, November 1, 2020.
Jason Sikoak, “Unrequited,” Sovereign Traces vol. 2: Relational Constellations, ed. Elizabeth LaPensée: 57-61. East Lansing, MI: Makwa Enwed, 2019.
Jason Sikoak, “The Tides That Bind: Art and Activism from Rigolet to Venice,” Inuit Art Quarterly 32, no. 5, Venice Biennale Special Issue, 2019: 31-36.
Jason Sikoak, “The Northern Lights of Nunatsiavut,” Inuktitut Magazine no. 125, Summer 2019: 32-35.
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Nicola Ryan, “Generations of Storytelling,” Inside Labrador, Fall 2022: 46-49.
Olivia O’Malley, “Montreal high school students create permanent reminder for truth and reconciliation,” Global News, April 29, 2022.
“Family Names,” Telling Our Twisted Histories (podcast), CBC Podcasts, Kaniehti:io Horn, June 14, 2021.
“Indigenous Voices: Inuk multimedia artist,” Let’s Go with Sabrina Marandola, CBC Radio, February 8, 2021.
Holly Lake, “Gaining Momentum: Labrador Iniut art shines bright at Montreal exhibit,” Labrador Life 14, no. 1 Winter 2019-20: 6-11.
Susan Nerberg, “New arts centre symbolizes reclamation of Labrador Inuit culture,” Broadview, January 23, 2019.
IAQ Staff, “Cutting Edge: Paper Today,” Inuit Art Quarterly 31, no. 3, Fall 2018: 41, 50.