Lukie Airut

Community: Igloolik (born in Alanarjuk Lake)
Born: 1942
Speaks: Inuktitut
Lukie (Luke) is a second generation master Inuit artist, he learned to carve from his father George Kappianaq. Lukie's younger brother, Bart Hanna, is also a well-known Inuit artist. Lukie originally started making sculptures to support his family as there were not many other employment opportunities in the community. Now he is a well established and internationally respected Inuit artist. He works with stone and whale bone. Lukie carves every day except when he he goes hunting and fishing to provide food for the family and community. Often he brings back stone and bone from these hunting trips. 

Lukie attended Nunavut Arctic College, where he specialized in the fine art of jewellery making. The Museum of Inuit Art in Mississauga, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the University of Alberta have Lukie Airut's pieces in their permanent art collections. Lukie's sculptures are very detailed and sophisticated, often multidimensional.