04. Plump Owls - 2026 CAPE DORSET Annual Print Collection
2026 CAPE DORSET Annual Print Collection
Official release date for sale, Saturday October 17, 2026
To inquire, contact 416.921.1721 or shop@craftontario.com
SAIMAIYU AKESUK
Plump Owls
Lithograph
Paper: BFK Rives Cream
Printer: Nujalia Quvianaqtuliaq
56.4 x 72.6 cm
Dorset ID # 26-04
Saimaiyu Akesuk ᓴᐃᒻᒪᐃᔪ ᐊᑭᒃ 1988-
"When I went down to the litho shop to sell my first drawing, I was very nervous wondering whether they would buy it or not. My first drawing was an image of my late grandfather’s (Latchaolassie) carving of a bird. I was so proud to get paid for that drawing and it inspired me to do more drawings."
Saimaiyu Akesuk was born on April 28, 1988 in Iqaluit but she has lived in Cape Dorset her whole life. Her parents are Lau Akesuk and Olayuk Akesuk who was one of the first Members of the Legislative Assembly in Nunavut. Saimaiyu was inspired to start drawing by Ningiukulu Teevee while they were taking a class together at the Nunavut Teaching Education Program. Saimaiyu’s confident drawings of birds and bears are characterized by her bold and dynamic simplicity rendered with soft tenderness and quite often a touch of whimsy.
Dorset Fine Arts was established in Toronto in 1978 as the wholesale marketing division of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative. The Co-operative is in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut and is unique among the Arctic Co-operatives for its focus on the arts and artists of the community. Dorset Fine Arts was established to develop and serve the market for Inuit fine art produced by the artist members of the Co-operative.