MONTREAL.- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts announced that Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk is joining its team as Curator and Mediator of Inuit Art. This eminent figure in the Inuit community will collaborate on all the Museum's projects to enrich its collection of Inuit art and enhance its many initiatives in Montreal, in Canada and in Northern communities.
In this new position, Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk will support the numerous upcoming exhibitions and acquisitions of Inuit art as well as the reorganization of the Museum's collection of Inuit art, one of the most prestigious in Canada. She will also oversee the development of a number of educational, cultural and community activities aimed at raising awareness of Inuit art and culture among a broader audience.
In addition, Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk will foster closer relationships between the MMFA and Arctic and Indigenouscommunities. Her expertise and profound knowledge of the lived realities of Indigenous peoples will facilitate the implementation of projects designed for both Inuit and qallunaat (non-Inuit). She will work with the Museum's teams to provide mentorship for interns from Inuit communities. Finally, along with the MMFA's curatorial and administrative teams, she will strengthen connections between the Museum and the Avataq Cultural Institute, the leading cultural organization which represents the Inuit of Nunavik. It should be noted that in September 2018 the two institutions signed a long-term partnership for the promotion of Inuit art and culture.
"With this first position devoted to Inuit art and culture at the MMFA, created exactly one year after the signing of our partnership agreement with the Avataq Cultural Institute, we are asserting our determination to introduce and expand new projects for the promotion of Inuit culture and art. We are fortunate to be able to rely on the considerable expertise of Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk in supporting our projects, developing our initiatives and above all in training the next generation of Inuit art professionals both here and elsewhere. Welcome, Lisa!" says Nathalie Bondil, Director General and Chief Curator of the MMFA.
"I am proud to beassociated with the MMFA in promoting Inuit art with my compatriots in Nunavik in order to showcase our communities and our culture. The Inuit of Nunavik, Nunavut, the Inuvialuit region and Nunatsiavut can count on me for their art to be well presented and highlighted. This collaboration will strengthen our cultural links with Montreal, Canada and countries across the world." states Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, Curator and Mediator of Inuit Art at the MMFA.
Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk is a trained anthropologist who holds a Master's degree from Université Laval and a certificate in financial management from Cornell University. Her Master's thesis focused on political and religious dynamics in the Northern village of Puvirnituq, where she was born.
As Vice President of International Affairs at the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk has worked with numerous Inuit organizations and committees at the provincial, federal and international levels. She provided her expertise in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She has also taught Inuktitut at John Abbott College, and worked as an educational counsellor for the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq and as a consultant for the Makivik Corporation. In addition, she has been Director of Communications and Public Relations at the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec.
Fluently trilingual in Inuktitut, French and English, she has taken part in numerous conferences and symposiums and published a number of articles on social, political and identity issues facing the Inuit. Lisa will also be a keynote speaker at the 21st Inuit Studies Conference, which will take place in Montreal in October.
