Determined curators piece together Inuk artist's oeuvre

Two art shows that took more than a little sleuthing to put together are now on display at the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) and an Elgin Street pub.

Alootook Ipellie was a well-known Inukartist, poet and journalist whose artworks weremostly bought by private individuals, not galleries or institutions, makingthemdifficult to track down.

For the past two years,CUAG has worked to find the pieces that make upits new exhibitionAlootook Ipellie: Walking Both Sides of an Invisible Border, which opened earlier this monthand will remainon display until Dec. 9. Admission is free.

"It was an exciting challenge. It was a mixture of ultimate networking and detective work," said the gallery's director, Sandra Dyck, on CBCRadio's All In A Day. Dyck curated the exhibit alongsideHeather Igloliorte and Christine Lalonde.

Ipellie worked in many mediums, and also wrote articles and essays. This is the first retrospective of his work, according to CUAG.

Dyck said that so far, the response to the exhibithas been positive.

"[People]were overwhelmed by the impact of seeing it all together," she said. "It's quite amazing to see all of his work assembled ... in one place. It covers his work from the early '70s right up until he died."

Ipelliewas born in Nuvuqquq on Baffin Island in 1951 and grew up in Iqaluit before moving to Ottawa as a young man. He died in Ottawa in 2007.

Mosha Folger, an Inuk filmmaker who lives in Ottawa, said he has always been inspired by Ipellie's work.

"I feel like [he's] kind of a kindred spirit. He's Inuk, he is from my hometown and he moved to Ottawa," Folger told All In A Day.

The title of the exhibit, Walking Both Sides of an Invisible Border, comes fromone of Ipellie's poems, andFolger said he understands the challengethe poem speaks toabout being planted in two communities.

"It is tough to be on one side or the other, because you don't really fit on one side or the other," Folgersaid.

In addition to the Ipellie retrospectiveat CUAG, a collection of hisoriginal drawingsopened Sunday at The Manx Pub on Elgin Street. The exhibitfocuses on the comic strip Nuna and Vut, which Ipellie drew for the east Arctic newspaperNunatsiaq Newsbetween 1994 and 1997.

The comic stripfollowed"the antics and adventures of two Inuit brothers in the years preceding the signing of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which led to the creation of the territory in 1999," according to a description of the exhibit on CUAG's website.

"During this period, Nunatsiaq News covered the political debates between the North and the South regarding the formation of Nunavut and the separation from the Northwest Territories, including the drawing of boundaries and the division of land and resources. Ipellie's lighthearted series contributed fresh perspectives to those debates."

The Manx exhibit will remain on display until Nov. 4. Admission is free.

The Manx has shown some of Ipellie'sworks in the past, first in 1993 for the release of a book of drawings, and then in 2007 for a memorial in his honour.