Up Front: Inuit Public Art @ Onsite Gallery Jessica Winters
January to April 2024
About Jessica Winters
Inuk artist Jessica Winters is a painter, biologist and curator raised in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut and is currently based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her work focuses on translating seemingly regular instances of Inuit life into something provoking and nostalgic. In her paintings, she draws upon vivid memories, intense curiosity and lived experiences detailing deep connections to place and community. Winters says, “my work is a deeply profound response to my culture, my family and the land that nurtures us.”
In her commissioned mural, Hopedale, Winters celebrates the land and people that build the foundation of home, the space that provides a depth of sustenance, responsibility and enduring connections. She says, “Every time I return to Nunatsiavut from the south, I can find something special about the place and the people that I took for granted as a kid growing up immersed in that life. It often feels like I am seeing something for the first time again.”
Hopedale is jointly commissioned by Bonavista Biennale 2023, the Inuit Art Foundation, Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq / Pijariuqsarniq Project, and Onsite Gallery at OCAD University.
Website: www.jessicawintersart.com
Instagram: @jessicawintersart
Image Credit: Jessica Winters, Hopedale, 2023
About Up Front:
In partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation (IAF), Onsite Gallery presents Up Front, a new series of commissioned digital murals by Inuit artists. Onsite Gallery recognizes the important contributions of the Inuit art sector and is pleased to work with the IAF to support Inuit art and artists in the public realm.
The Inuit Art Foundation is the only national organization supporting Inuit artists working in all medias and geographic areas. IAF empowers and supports Inuit artists’ self-expression and self-determination through its many platforms, including the Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), Canada’s largest art magazine, the IAQ Profiles, artist services, awards, scholarships and mentorship opportunities.
Up Front: Inuit Public Art @ Onsite Gallery is made possible with the support from the City of Toronto’s Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnership Fund and the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts. Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.
