Arnatsiaq Qvist is a writer and sewist from Uummannaq, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), who uses her dual artistic practices to tell stories. Her written work focuses primarily on non-fiction, while her sewing is concentrated in wearable knits and sealskin.
Qvist learned to sew as a very small child, before she learned to read and write; her grandfather was at one point a traditional sewing teacher and her grandmother was a sewist, and this meant that she learned to sew by hand in sealskin right from the start, producing a small sealskin replica of a seal as her first-ever project. “Every floor of my grandparents’ house had at least two sewing machines,” Qvist says, recalling how much time she spent learning about fabric from the piles of mail-order fabric catalogues her grandparents kept in the house. [1] Sewing for Qvist growing up was a highly personal practice, one she found therapeutic. But following her grandfather’s passing, she began working with it in a more serious and public way. “I think that was part of my grieving process after he died,” she says. “He left me with a big book of his own patterns and designs…the last thing he was doing was sewing, and I wanted to continue that for him.”
From her beginnings in sealskin, Qvist has gone on to experiment with many fabric combinations—“pretty much anything in the textile realm,” she says—and today loves to combine different kinds of materials, like mixing fluid knits with more structured sealskin and upholstery fabrics. She makes tops, dresses, vests, bags and more, primarily things that she wants to wear or use but can’t find in stores to buy. Knits have become a favourite due to their forgiving nature and also their ease in the construction process. Qvist says she is always impatient to see the finished project, and knits can make the process go faster white still resulting in quality clothing that will last and is in line with her values of sustainable and ethical fashion. While her grandparents’ legacy continues to provide her with inspiration, she is also involved in sewing groups through social media that provide community and a peer network of creators. “Being able to connect with people through sewing has been wonderful,” she says.
Qvist’s writing has grown in Greenlandic, English and Danish through her university studies as an undergraduate student in the Translation and Interpretation program at the University of Greenland. She has written several pieces of art critique for the Inuit Art Quarterly, and has recently written treatments for a docuseries in early development. Qvist sees strong links between both her sewing and writing practices; in both cases “you get to tell stories and express yourself,” she says, explaining that even for artists working visual mediums, she feels that if you’ve made a creation then you must tell the story of it. “Usually what makes the piece good is the story,” she says.
Stories are what she’s also been helping others tell, collaborating with fabric and pattern companies like Fabric Snob and Fabric Flow to to make pieces using their fabric or based on their designs and providing them with photos or the finished product to help promote their wares. Qvist hopes to do more of these collaborations in the future, as well as participating in in-person sewing community events, where creators make special outfits and wear them to display their skills. She is also continuing to grow her writing skills through mentorship and training as an Ilinniaqtuit with the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq / Pijariuqsarniq Project.