Nicotye Samayualie (b. 1983, Kinngait) began making art to support her three sons, though she points to her grand-mother, Keeleemeeoomee Samayualie, as the major source of inspiration during her childhood.
She bases her drawings off a combination of memory and photographs. Samayualie is attracted to objects that represent domestic life and oftentimes draws still lifes as a way to represent day-to-day experiences in Cape Dorset.
She’s recently developed the habit of narrating her work on the back of her drawings, describing the context and meaning of the objects she features in her work.
In 2016, Samayualie was part of the TD Bank North/South Artist Exchange, during which she participated in the Indigenous Residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She was featured in the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection in 2013, 2015, and 2017, and was a 2017 recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s REVEAL Indigenous Art Award. Her work has been displayed at instituations like Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada as well as art fairs like NADA New York.