ABOUT BARRY POTTLE

Barry Pottle is an Inuk artist originally from Nunatsiavut in Labrador, now living in Ottawa, Ontario. He has worked with the Indigenous arts community for many years particularly in the city and surrounding area. Barry has always been interested in photography as a medium of artistic expression and as a way of exploring the world around him. Living in Ottawa, which has the largest urban population of Inuit outside the North, it is through the camera’s lens that Barry showcases the uniqueness of this community. Whether it is at a cultural gathering, family outings or the solitude of nature that photography allows, he captures the essence of life in Ottawa.

From a regional perspective, living in the Nation’s Capital allows him to travel throughout the valley and beyond to explore and photograph people, places, and events. At the start of his art practice, the concept of “Urban Inuit” was relatively new and, for the most part, unexplored when compared to other Urban Indigenous groups in Canada. For this reason, as an artist, he seeks to articulate what this means. “The camera,” he shares, “allows me to explore connection and continuity with my heritage and culture especially with regards to the contemporary reality of being an Urban Inuk.”

Barry’s artwork has been featured in exhibitions in Canada, the United States and internationally. As well, his photos have been published in a variety of books and magazines (Makivik Magazine, Inuktitut Magazine, Inuit Art Quarterly), he has also contributed images to several community initiatives.

“As a self-taught artist, I use photography as a means of exploring cultural, social, and political themes that affect Inuit living in an urban setting. My goal is to help build a foundation for photography within Inuit Art and beyond and in the end, I had to name what I was trying to achieve so I named it Contemporary Urban Inuit Art Photography.”

DOWNLOADABLE BIOGRAPHY & CURRICULUM VITAE

PUBLICATIONS

KULA Journal, Evolving Knowledge: The Photography Practice of Contemporary Inuk Art Photographer Barry Pottle, Walsh, Andrea, University of Victoria (2021)

AGO INSIDER Artist Spotlight, Through the camera’s lens, Pottle showcases the uniqueness of Inuit life in Ottawa, Art Gallery of Ontario website (July 27, 2020)

Canadian Culinary Imaginations, eds. Boyd, Shelley and Barenscott, Dorothy, McGill-Queen’s University Press (July 2020) (Purchase here)

Watch Your Head: Writers & Artists Respond to the Climate Crisis, Photography: Barry Pottle (January 2020)

Esker Foundation, Spring / Summer (exhibition program) (Spring 2019)

Ottawa Life, Through a different lens: Photographer Barry Pottle explores Ottawa’s Inuit culture (October 23, 2018)

Ottawa Art Gallery, Àdisòkàmagan / Nous connaître un peu nous-mêmes / We’ll all become stories (Catalogue) Basciano, Rebecca (2017)

Canadian Art, A Night in Nunatsiavut. Campbell, Heather (August 14, 2017)

The Hamilton Spectator, ROCKINGHAM: Inuit lives expressed through numbers. Rockingham, Graham (July 25, 2017)

The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut. (Catalogue) Igloliorte, Heather (2017)

Nunatsiaq Online, Whose Canada? Indigenous artists respond to Canada’s big birthday. Edgar, Courtney (January 17, 2017)

Mixed Bag Mag, Ottawa Tomorrow: “Kanata 150?” critiques #Canada150. Snyder, Leah (January 11, 2017)

Canadian Art, Must-Sees This Week. (October 6, 2016)

The Overcast, Steep Yourself in Inuit Culture This Month. Pelley, Chad (October 5, 2016)

Ornamentum: Decorative Arts in Canada, Barry Pottle’s The Awareness Series “Eskimo Identification Tag” in Arctic Canada. (Fall/Winter 2016)

Nunatsiaq Online, Ottawa Inuit share traditional and new art forms at solstice festival. Edgar, Courtney (June 23, 2016)

Nunatsiaq Online, Exhibit puts faces, names to Canada’s Eskimo ID tag system. Rogers, Sarah (May 27, 2016)

The Globe and Mail, Barry Pottle’s Photography Explores Inuit Objectification by ID Tags. Adams, James. (May 17, 2016)

Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4: 14-15, Artist’s Choice: Jennie Williams. Toronto: Inuit Art Foundation. Pottle, Barry (Winter 2016)

Anchorage, AK: Anchorage Museum, Without Boundaries: Visual Conversations. Kelliher-Combs, Sonya (2016)

Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3-4: 30-34, The Silatani Series: An Artistic Exploration of the Experiences of Urban Inuit, Toronto: Inuit Art Foundation. Pottle, Barry (Fall/Winter 2015)

International Journal of Indigenous Health, Vol. 9, No. 2: 50-62, Foodland Security: Access to Inuit Country Food in an Urban Setting – As told by Barry Pottle through contemporary Inuit art photography, Pottle, Barry (2015)

Nunatsiaq Online, Inuit teach Ottawa students about northern food and games. Gregoire, Lisa (April 3, 2014)

Mixed Bag Mag, Inuit in Ottawa: Foodland Security, A Taste of the (Edible) Arctic & How to Do Away With Cultural Prejudice While Having Fun. Snyder, Leah (April 3, 2014)

Ottawa: Ottawa Art Gallery, Decolonize Me (Catalogue) Igloliorte, Heather, Croft, Brenda L. and Loft, Steve (2012)

Carleton Charlatan, Moveable Feast, Carleton University (2012)

Inuit Art Quarterly. Vol. 26, No. 1: 19-23, New Artists, New Media, New Techniques. Toronto: Inuit Art Foundation. Mitchell, Marybelle (Spring 2011)

Canadian Art, 9 Memorable Events from the First iNuit Blanche. Brown, Nicholas. (October 13, 2006)

Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 2: 14-19, Contemporary Traditions in Inuit Art. Toronto: Inuit Art Foundation, Pottle, Barry (Summer 2001)

Contemporary Canadian Indian and Inuit Art in Canada (Catalogue) (2001)

Inuit Art Quarterly, A Contemporary Canadian Indian and Inuit Art in Canada (2001)

EXHIBITIONS

2025 From Points to Prints (solo exhibition), Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa, Ontario, October 9 – November 23, 2025 (more info)

2025 New Topographies’ Barry Pottle and Leslie Reid, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Ottawa, Ontario, March 02 – March 16, 2025

2025 Director Collect: 110 Years (group exhibition), Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, June 27, 2024 – January 25, 2025 (more info)

2024 Gather (group exhibition), The Rooms Art Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland, May 18 – September 22, 2024 (more info)

2024 Mn’tu wikk ti! (group exhibition), Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, April 13 – June 9, 2024 (more info)

2024 Indigenous Histories (group exhibition), Kode Art Museums, Kode, Norway April 26 – August 25, 2024 (more info)

2023 Indigenous Histories (group exhibition), Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Brazil, October 20, 2023 – February 25, 2024 (more info)

2023 In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now (group exhibition), Minnesota Institute of Art, October 22, 2023 – January 14, 2024 (more info)

2022 Bizindamowin (group exhibition), KPMG exhibition, Toronto, Ontario, November 10, 2022

2021 Ungasittuq; Something that is Far Away, a project by Barry Pottle (sole exhibition), Legacy Art Galleries, Victoria, British Columbia, October 7, 2021 – December 23, 2021 (more info)

2021 Vectors of Transmissions (group exhibition) Art Gallery of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, May 20 – October 10, 2021 (more info)

2021 ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ / Among All These Tundras (group exhibition) Pātaka Art + Museum, Porirua, New Zealand, March 28 – July 11, 2021 (more info)

2020 HINDSIGHT: Addition to the City of Ottawa Art Collection, City Hall Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, December 15 – February 7, 2021

2020 Microcosm Project (My COVID Diary), City of Ottawa Public Art Program, Instagram, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June – August 2020

2019 ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ / Among All These Tundras (group exhibition) Onsite Gallery, Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 18 – December 7, 2019 (more info)

2019 Future Possible: Art of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1949 to Present (group exhibition) The Rooms Provincial Museum, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, May 18 – September 22, 2019 (more info)

2019 ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ / Among All These Tundras (group exhibition) Esker Foundation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 1 – August 30, 2019 (more info)

2019 No Borders Art Festival (group exhibition) Nectar Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 11 – 25, 2019

2019 Without Boundaries: Visual Conversations (group show) Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum, Nome, Alaska, United States, March 2019

2019 Kaleidoscope: 2018 Additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection (group exhibition) City of Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, December 6, 2018 – January 30, 2019

2018 Flash Photography Festival, Winnipeg Art Gallery Gift Shop, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, October 2018

2018 ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ / Among All These Tundras (group exhibition) Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 4 – October 27, 2018 (more info)

2018 Gathering Place (group exhibition) Ontario Legislative Assembly, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, December 18, 2017 – December 31, 2018 (more info)

2018 Barry Pottle: Urban Inuit Photography (solo exhibition) ShowWAG, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Friday, May 25 – August 22, 2018 (more info)

2018 Àdisòkàmagannous Connaître / Nous Connaître Un Peu Nous-mêmes / We’ll All Become

Stories (group exhibition) Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, April 28 – September 16, 2018 (more info)

2018 Without Boundaries-Visual Conversations (group exhibition) Institute of Native American Arts, Sante Fe, New Mexico, United States, February 16 – July 29, 2018 (more info)

2017 Raise A Flag: Works from the Indigenous Art Collection (2000-2015) (group exhibition) Onsite Gallery, Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 16 – December 10, 2017 (more info)

2017 Bonavista Biennale (group exhibition) Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada, August 15 – September 15, 2017 (more info)

2017 Awareness Series (solo exhibition) Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, June 28, 2017 – January 14, 2018 (more info)

2017 It’s Complicated by the 007 Collective (group exhibition) Central Art Garage, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 15 – July 31, 2017 (more info)

2017 SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut (group exhibition – touring) The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, October 8, 2016 – January 15, 2017; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, June 17 – September 10, 2017; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, May 26 – October 14, 2018 (more info)

2017 Without Boundaries: Visual Conversations (group exhibition) Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, Alaska, United States, September 30, 2016 – February 12, 2017 (more info)

2016 Community Freezer presented by iNuit Blanche (group exhibition) Eastern Edge Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland, October 8 – 21, 2016

2016 Awareness Series (solo exhibition) Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 28 – July 30, 2016

2016 Keeping Record: The Documentary Impulse in Inuit Art (group exhibition) Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 2 – August 28, 2016

2015 SakKijâjuk: Labrador Inuit Art (group exhibition) Happy Valley – Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, November 19 – 23, 2015

2015 New Voices: An Exhibition of Recent Acquisitions, Part 2 (group exhibition) Aboriginal Art Centre, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, September – December 31, 2015

2015 Urban Inuit, Barry Pottle Photographs (solo exhibition) Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May – July

2015 At Home and Away, the Photographs of Barry Pottle and Chris Sampson, Bruin Provincial Museum (a division of the Rooms), Newfoundland, Canada, May – October

2014 Inspiring Change Exhibition (group exhibition) Canadian Human Rights Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, September 2014

2014 Surveillapocalypse (group exhibition with Brooklyn-based artcodex and Ottawa-based 007 Collective) FiveMyles Gallery, Brooklyn, New York City, United States, June 7 – 22, 2014 (more info)

2014 Foodland Security (group exhibition) Edible Arctic Festival, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 3 – 7, 2014

2013 Urban and Indigenous (group exhibition) Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Québec, Canada, June 27 – September 2, 2013 (more info)

2013 Foodland Security, Allen Library, North Lobby, University of Washington at Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, May 1 – June 3, 2013 (more info)

2013 Urban Inuit, Works by Barry Pottle (solo exhibition) Ottawa Art Gallery in collaboration with the National Arts Centre’s Northern Scene, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 4 – May 26, 2013

2013 Re-visioning the North (group exhibition) Aboriginal Art Centre, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Gatineau, Québec, Canada, March – May 2013 (more info)

2012 Moveable Feast (group exhibition) La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, August 2012

2011 – 2015 Decolonize Me (group exhibition – touring) Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 23 – November 20, 2011; Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, September 15 – November 4, 2012; Foreman Art Gallery, Lennoxville, Québec, January 9 – March 16, 2013; Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, June 20 – September 9, 2013; Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, January 10 – March 2, 2014; Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, July 31 – October 9, 2014; The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, January 22 – April 26, 2015; Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, June 14 – September 13, 2015 (more info)

2010 The 2nd Carleton Community Biennial (group exhibition)

2010 Aboriginal Artist Village (group exhibition) Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

ARTWORK PUBLISHED

Atiqput: Inuit Oral History and Project Naming, Library and Archives Canada

Inuktitut Magazine

Inuit Art Quarterly

Makivik Magazine

Ottawa Life Magazine

Sanaugavut Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic (The National Gallery of Canada)

AWARDS

Nominated for the 2024 Scotiabank Photography Award.
Nominated for the 2023 Ontario Arts Council Indigenous Arts Award.
Nominated for the 2019 Paul De Hueck and Norman Walford Award Career Achievement Award.

COLLECTIONS

Art Gallery of Guelph
Art Gallery of Hamilton
Art Gallery of Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Studies Centre at University of Washington
Carleton University (Equity Department)
City of Ottawa
Indigenous Art Centre CIRNAC (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada)
Legacy Art Gallery, University of Victoria, B.C.
National Gallery of Canada
Nunatsiavut Government
Ottawa Art Gallery
The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery
Private Collections