Martha Kyak

Topic: Artistic Empowerment 

Background:

Martha Kyak is a fashion designer and artist originally from Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), NU. She is the youngest of eleven children and most of her family members are creative, artistic, and in the field of education. A graduate of McGill University, she is a dedicated educator who has held meaningful positions including teacher, principal and superintendent. Martha is currently an instructor at the Ottawa based college program Nunavut Sivuniksavut where she teaches Inuit History, Inuktitut, and sewing.

Martha is a self-taught artist and seamstress working from Ottawa, Ontario. Living in Pond Inlet, Martha had her own retail store selling sewing supplies and other items. Her passion has always been sewing and designing as she grew up watching her mother and sisters sew. As an artist, she continues to transcend mediums as a multi-talented illustrator of several children’s books, accomplished painter, graphic designer and producer of Inuktitut books and teaching resources. She continues to evolve her creativity in fabric and fashion design.

Heartwork:

Martha’s fashion line InukChic has been prominently featured at Indigenous Fashion Week in Toronto and includes garments, jewelry and paintings. True to her arctic roots, sealskin is featured predominantly in her clothing and accessories. Her own fabric designs prominently feature ulus and arctic flowers. Kyak has exhibited and sold her work across the country including several runaway presentations.  

Indigenous Women:

Martha creates art from traditional Inuit designs and includes contemporary influences, drawing heavily from her own appreciation for family, community and care.  Her work continues to inspire others in the Indigenous fashion and business industries, educators and community builders alike, as she embodies the capability and style aspired to by many Indigenous professionals working to empower others.