As one of the eldest of the original group of carvers still working in Baker Lake, Barnabus Arnasungaaq’s work has been an influence in his community and on the art of the Keewatin for four decades.

For the nomadic hunting groups of the Keewatin area (to the northwest of Hudson Bay), the late 1950s were a most challenging time in their history. With the collapse of the caribou herds and the subsequent famine of 1956-57, it was the decision of the federal government to evacuate the area, moving the Inuit into the existing villages for medical care and to establish them in permanent settlements in the hopes of ending the never-ending cycle of feast or famine.

For the new residents of these communities it was a difficult transition period: moving from the nomadic life into the villages presented many problems and employment possibilities were very scarce. Government programs to foster economic opportunities were initiated, with varying degrees of success.

Since the introduction of carving programs in Baker Lake in the early 1960s, Barnabus Arnasungaaq has been a major force and contributor to what clearly became the overall style of the tundra artists. Showing with the first exhibition of the art of the Keewatin held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1964, he has continued to make work that embodies that wonderful ideographic quality that we have come to associate with the tundra communities that make art.

The hard black steatite available to the carvers in Baker Lake was not a stone that lent itself easily to perforation or fine detail, however the Keewatin artists defined readily identifiable personal styles where emphasis was placed on tactile quality and a certain monumentality and timelessness of image. The sculpture of Barnabus has a stoic enduring quality and remarkable presence that has found a large audience around the world.

COLLECTIONS :
Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada, Michigan, U.S.A.
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
Eskimo Museum, Churchill, Manitoba
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories
Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
London Regional Art Gallery, London, Ontario
Macmillan-Bloedel Limited, Vancouver, British Columbia
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Brunswick, Maine, U.S.A.
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS :
1964 Attended the opening of the exhibition 'Eskimo Carvers of Keewatin, N.W.T.', in Winnipeg.
1965 Participated in an experimental graphics workshop in Baker Lake (unpublished and uncatalogued).
1992 Barnabus attended a Baker Lake carving workshop led by David Ruben Piqtoukun.

SELECTED REFERENCES :
MASTERS OF THE ARCTIC: An Exhibition of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks. Ada, Michigan: Amway Corporation, 1989.
Ayre, Robert THIS NORTH VISION REMAINS AS VITAL. Montreal Star, October 18, 1969.
Blakeman, Evelyn OMINGMAK: The Muskox. The Inuit Art Enthusiasts Newsletter, Issue 31, April, 1986.
Blodgett, Jean SELECTIONS FROM THE JOHN AND MARY ROBERTSON COLLECTION OF INUIT SCULPTURE. Kingston, Ont. : Queens University, The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1986.
Blodgett, Jean THE COMING AND GOING OF THE SHAMAN: Eskimo Shamanism and Art. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979.
Brandson, Lorraine E. CARVED FROM THE LAND: The Eskimo Museum Collection. Churchill, Man.: Diocese of Churchill Hudson Bay, 1994.
Burgess, Helen A TALENT TO CARVE. North, vol. 12, 2, March-April, 1965. pp.19-27. Reprinted: Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1967, 1967.
Butler, K.J. MY UNCLE WENT TO THE MOON: [Transcribed and edited by Kay Bridge.]. artscanada, vol. 30, nos. 5,6, December/January, 1973. pp.154-158.
Canadian Arctic Producers BARNABUS ARNASUNGNAAQ: Recent Sculpture. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative Limited, 1979.
Canadian Eskimo Arts Council CRAFTS FROM ARCTIC CANADA = ARTISANAT DE L'ARCTIQUE CANADIEN. Ottawa: Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, 1974.
Driscoll, Bernadette THE INUIT COLLECTION OF THE WINNIPEG ART GALLERY. Canadian Antiques & Art Review, vol. 2, no. 17, April, 1981. pp.36-41.
Driscoll, Bernadette UUMAJUT: Animal Imagery in Inuit art. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1985.
Eakin, William and Jack Butler PHOTOESSAY: BAKER LAKE 1983-84. Arts Manitoba, vol.3, no.4, Fall 1984, pp. 20-25.
Embankment Gallery ESKIMO ART AT THE EMBANKMENT GALLERY. London: Embankment Gallery, 1978.
Gagnon, Louis ESPACES INUIT: Dessins et Sculpture. Sainte-Foy, Quebec: Maison Hamel-Bruneau, 1990.
Goo-Doyle, Ovilu THREE BAKER LAKE ARTISTS COMMENT ON THE NEW JESSIE OONARK ARTS AND CRAFTS CENTRE. Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8, No.1, Spring 1993, pp. 53-58.
Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art BAKER LAKE SCULPTURE. Toronto: The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, 1974.
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum KEEPING OUR STORIES ALIVE: An Exhibition of Art and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada. Santa Fe, N.M.: Institute of American Native Arts Museum, 1995.
Inuit Galerie BARNABUS AKKANASHOONARK [SIC]. Mannheim, F.D.R.: Inuit Galerie, 1987.
Inuit Galerie BARNABUS AKKANASHOONARK. Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany: Inuit Galerie, 1981.
Inuit Galerie DIE KUNST AUS DER ARKTIS. Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany: Inuit Galerie, 1984.
Inuit Galerie DIE KUNST DER ARKTIS. Mannheim, F.D.R.: Inuit Galerie, 1988.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver AN ENDURING TRADITION II: Inuit Carving from the Northwest Territories. Vancouver: The Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1983.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver BAKER LAKE. Vancouver, B.C. : Inuit Gallery of Vancouver [1990].
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver INUIT MASTERWORKS: November 3-November 24, 1990. Vancouver, B.C.: Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1990.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver KEEWATIN SCULPTURE; REFLECTIONS OF THE SPIRIT. Vancouver, B.C. : The Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1986.
Marion Scott Gallery THE TREASURED MONUMENT: An Exhibition of Small-scale Inuit Sculpture. Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1993.
McMichael Canadian Collection THE MCMICHAEL CANADIAN COLLECTION. Kleinberg: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1979.
Musee des Beaux-Arts (Arras, France) INUK, INUIT: Art et tradition chez les Esquimaux d'hier et d'aujourd'hui. Arras, France: Musee des Beaux-Arts, 1987.
Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery THE JACQUI AND MORRIS SHUMIATCHER COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Regina: The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1981.
Pucker/Safrai Gallery STONE SCULPTURE OF BAKER LAKE ESKIMOS. Boston: Pucker/Safrai Gallery, 1974.
Sanavik Cooperative SCULPTURE 1974. Baker Lake: Sanavik Cooperative, 1974.
Seidelman, Harold and James Turner THE INUIT IMAGINATION: Arctic Myth and Sculpture. Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1993.
Spirit Wrestler Gallery KEEWATIN 2000: April - May 2000. Vancouver, B.C.: Spirit Wrestler Gallery, 2000.
Swinton, George ESKIMO SCULPTURE. = SCULPTURE ESQUIMAUDE. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1965.
Swinton, George SCULPTURE OF THE ESKIMO. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972.
Swinton, Nelda LA DEESSE INUITE DE LA MER. = THE INUIT SEA GODDESS. Montreal:Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1980.
Upstairs Gallery BAKER LAKE SCULPTURE. Winnipeg: The Upstairs Gallery 1989.
Victor Waddington SHEOKJU OF CAPE DORSET AND ELEVEN SCULPTORS OF BAKER LAKE. London: Victor Waddington, 1977.
Vision Planetaire NOUVEAUX TERRITOIRES: 350/500 ANS APRES: Une exposition d'art aborigene contemporain du Canada. Montreal: Vision Planetaire: Ville de Montreal: UNESCO, 1992.
Waddington Galleries ESKIMO SCULPTURE. Montreal: Waddington Galleries, 1974.
Wight, Darlene BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection. Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4.
Wight, Darlene SWINTON COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. The WAG Magazine, September/October, 1987. pp. 4-5.
Wight, Darlene WINNIPEG COLLECTS: Inuit Art from Private Collections. Winnipeg, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987.
Winnipeg Art Gallery ESKIMO CARVERS OF KEEWATIN N.W.T. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery with the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1964.
Winnipeg Art Gallery SWINTON COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987.
Winnipeg Art Gallery THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY COLLECTION OF INUIT ART: Winnipeg Art Gallery, May 9-August 30, 1992. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1992.
Winnipeg Art Gallery THE ZAZELENCHUK COLLECTION OF ESKIMO ART. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1978.