B.1993
Kablusiak is a multidisciplinary Inuvialuk artist who creates work in a variety of materials including, but not limited to, soapstone, permanent marker, bed sheets, felt, fur, and words. Their work explores the dis/connections between existence within and without Inuit Nunangat, the impacts of colonization on gender and sexuality expressions, trying to make people laugh, and the everyday.
Kablusiak holds a BFA in Drawing from the Alberta University of the Arts in Mohkinstsis (Calgary). Awards (some but not all) include the 2020 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award, the 2019 Sobey Art Award (shortlist) representing the Prairies and the North, the 2021 and 2023 (shortlist) Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, the 2023 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award, the Gattuso Prize, and the 2023 winner of the prestigious Sobey Art Award.
Kablusiak’s recognition has extended the boundaries of the exhibition space, and their work has been collected widely; most notably the Indigenous Art Centre (CIRNAC), the Art Gallery of Alberta, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity), The Image Centre, Global Affairs Canada Visual Art Collection, WAG-Qaumajuq, Art Gallery of Ontario, Glenbow Museum, to name a few.
