Contact
You can request further information by contacting the following email addresses:
Alappaa's mailing address is:
128 Braden Blvd.
Yellowknife, NT X1A0G1
Canada
P: 867-444-8999
Myrna Pokiak is the owner and founder of Alappaa Inc. and all work flows through her.
Biography
Myrna Pokiak, is an Inuvialuk from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, born in the Spring of 1979 to James and Maureen Pokiak. Myrna and her husband Eddie Paul, has 3 daughters, Mya, Launa, and Kara. Much of what inspires her as an artist is the experiential and cultural teachings in which she was immersed at a young age as she traveled on the land and sea with her family. Knowledge, skills and traditions were passed down to her as it was generations before.
Throughout Myrna’s career with Bachelor Degree’s in Anthropology and Education, as an artist and business owner, she has worked with a variety of organizations from Museums, Universities, Land Claim Organizations, and Private Industry. She has had the honour to curate and provide photographs and videos for the most recent exhibit on the Inuvialuit Beluga Whale Harvest for the Canadian Museum of Nature (2019).
The gifts she was given through stories and experiences are what drives Myrna’s artistic path and brings to life the symbolisms that have sustained Northern people from well before confederation to today. Myrna’s daughters come from a long line of families in the North: Inuvialuit on Myrna’s side, Dene and Metis on their father’s side.
Myrna has a wide variety of accomplishments, from writing, design, and photography. Her most widely used and recognized artform is through beadwork, fur, and hide. Her patience, dedication and vision guides her artistic path, allowing her to express her culture through art.
It is history, northern cultures, the environment and resources, and most importantly, her girls that inspire Myrna Pokiak as an artist.
Art Style and Genre
Myrna Pokiak’s artwork is a mixture between Traditional Inuvialuit and Contemporary Art. She uses a variety of art styles, including photography, painting, and traditional design. Myrna works with various tools and equipment to support her art, to create, making her visions come to life. Her favourite artforms are photography, beading, and sewing with fabric and fur. She incorporates videos and photographs she takes into a variety of her pieces, most recently show casing the work she did as a Drone Pilot for the visual effects showcased in an exhibit for the National Canadian Museum of Nature.
