Manasie Akpaliapik | |
---|---|
Born | 1955 (age 68–69) |
Nationality | Canadian Inuit |
Known for | Scultpure (whalebone, ivory, stone) |
Website | manasie.com |
Manasie Akpaliapik (born 1955) is a Canadian Inuk sculptor.[1][2]
Akpaliapik was born in a hunting camp on Baffin Island, Nunavut and moved with his family to Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) in 1967.[2] Though his parents were sculptors, he learned to carve at age ten by observing his grandparents.[1]
At age 12 he was sent to residential school in Iqaluit where his language and culture were suppressed.[1][3] Akpaliapik left residential school at 16 years old.[1][3]
Akpaliapik married a woman named Noodloo and returned to Arctic Bay with his family.[1][3] His wife and their two children were killed in a fire in 1980, after which Akpaliapik moved to Montreal and subsequently to Toronto.[1][3]