(1943-2013) - Artist Biography - Kugaaruk, Nunavut
Nick Sikkuark (1943-2013) was an Inuit art sculpture carver from Kugaaruk (formerly Pelly Bay), Nunavut, Canada. His works are mainly in whale bone, caribou antler, and walrus ivory, and are characterized by "droll, macabre wit." Born in Garry Lake, Nunavut (then part of the Keewatin), Sikkuark was orphaned at a young age. He was then taken in by the Oblate Fathers. As a young man he studied for the clergy in Winnipeg and Ottawa before settling in Kugaaruk, Nunavut, then called Pelly Bay. It was there that he began to work as an artist full-time.
There are a few Inuit artists from Kugaaruk, including the world renowned Emily Illuitok, who works mostly in walrus ivory and bone and Nick Sikkuark who works are mainly in whale bone, caribou antler, and walrus ivory.