Baker Lake painter takes top spot in Northwestel Nunavut directory cover contest
March 29, 2021
Iqaluit, NU — A Baker Lake-based painter is the big winner in Northwestel’s directory cover art competition. Kaytlyn Amitnak’s oil-on-canvas painting “Dancing Grizzly Bear” is featured on the cover of the Northwestel 2021/22 phone directory for Nunavut.
A first-time entrant in the annual competition, Amitnak says she’s spent most of her life creating art.
“As long as I can remember, I’ve been into art. As a little girl I was drawing a lot. Whether it was with pencils or crayons. As I got older, I started adventuring with different mediums, like watercolours. I eventually fell in love with oil painting, so now I stick with that.”
As a college student, Amitnak attended classes devoted to Inuit studies. It’s a subject, she explains, that inspires much her artwork.
“I find it really interesting because it is something from my Inuit culture that isn’t maintained right at this moment. I’m really into our culture and our cultural beliefs, so it’s important to me to create those visuals of the past and our belief systems.”
Amitnak’s winning cover art features the image of a grizzly bear appearing to dance within the flickering flame of a qulliq – a traditional Inuit oil lamp. As the winning artist, she takes home a $5,000 prize from Northwestel.
Northwestel has been showcasing the talents of northern artists on its regional phone directory covers for more than 30 years.
“Northwestel is continuing its longstanding support for the arts community by showcasing northern artwork on the covers of phone directories in each of the regions where we operate,” says Northwestel’s President Curtis Shaw. “We are proud to spotlight the work of northern artists each year and share their creativity and talent in homes and businesses across the North.”
Information about picking up Northwestel directories
Directory availability in each community may vary due to the COVID-19 situation. Customers are advised to check with the directory pickup location in their community for availability and practice social distancing when picking up their directory. A list of designated pickup locations in each community is available at nwtel.ca/phone-books.
Northwestel directories can also be viewed online at edirectories.yp.ca.
