Annie Pootoogook, Junior Rangers (2006)

I am often asked about Indigenous art when I am outside Canada, as many equate it with outsider art, perhaps because it is foreign and exotic to their eyes. They say they have not seen anything like it before, especially art from Canada’s Inuit communities. But novelty is not synonymous with outsider art, and it would be unfortunate if such views reflected outdated notions of so-called primitive art. This topic is explored my book, Outsider Art of Canada, but here is a brief synopsis.

The move to apply the outsider art label to Canadian Indigenous art is puzzling, as the label is not attached to the work of Indigenous artists in other countries. The artwork of Native Americans, Indigenous Australian peoples, or New Zealand Māori, for instance, is not considered outside of anything  — it is respected as art in its own right. Yet some seek to place Canada’s Indigenous artists in the outsider art category, arguing that the effects of colonialism are directly responsible for the marginalized status of their people. While the same argument can be made with respect to Indigenous peoples in other countries, there has been no move to attach the outsider label to their artwork. While he trauma of Canada’s Indigenous population through centuries of oppression is an undisputed fact, the artwork of a marginalized population ≠ outsider art. In fact, the work of traditional Canadian Indigenous artists reflects styles particular to each community while other artists, like Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and Ken Monkman, have moved into the contemporary art world.

Contemporary Inuit drawings (of the past 20 – 25 years) certainly offer a fresh perspective on life in Canada’s north and the art is admired by outsider art collectors, particularly those who embrace folk and naïve art as part of the outsider art genre. But the drawings are not part of traditional Inuit culture; they are a new art form with a remarkable history. In the 1950s, the government of Canada relocated the nomadic Inuit population to permanent community settlements. With diminished means to support themselves, Japanese printmaking was introduced by Qallunaat (non-Inuit)  to the Inuit community of Kinngait, Nunavut as a way to boost the local economy. While the prints depart from conventional Inuit imagery, that does not mean they belong in the outsider art category. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that their work has matured beyond the borders of more traditional first and second generation Inuit art. Today, production of prints is a significant source of income for Arctic communities and the prospect of financial independence is the impetus for many Inuit artists. In contrast, outsider artists are compelled to create for personal reasons; financial reward and recognition is not what drives them to create art.

Why are there so many definitions of outsider art in Canada?
May 24, 2025

Artist:  Anick Langelier, Canada

I am often asked why the definition of outsider art varies so much, particularly on the west coast of Canada. One of the reasons is access to funding.

Opening an art gallery anywhere is a daunting prospect. The costs are staggering and the risk is high. In addition to rent, taxes, insurance, marketing and salaries, there is the possibility that the public will not want to buy the art you are offering. Particularly in Canada, where little is known about outsider art and tastes run to decorative art and landscapes, selling outsider art is a risky venture. However, funding from all levels of government (municipal, provincial, and federal) may be available if the art enterprise addresses current social issues. In other words, featuring the work of artists with mental illnesses, disabilities, housing challenges, and so on, may entitle the business owner to obtain supportive funding. In some cases, the art seems to take a back seat to the artist’s personal circumstances, a position that would be untenable anywhere else in the world. Tying the gallery’s entire identity with outsider art is a bold step and one that is taken only in British Columbia. Elsewhere in Canada, as in Quebec, an art gallery may include work by outsider artists but the work holds up without a label. It is powerful, remarkable art that deserves to hang alongside the work of professional artists.

As I’ve often stated, labelling artwork as outsider art is not always accurate. It is the artist’s intention and drive to create art that leads to application of the outsider art label, not their personal circumstances. Curators should lead with the ART, not the artist’s personal characteristics or social status.

February 4, 2025

Artist:  Karl Goertzen

In any discussion about art, outsider or otherwise, it is important to consider how the artwork made the journey from the artist’s studio to a gallery or museum. There are millions of artists in the world and most of them are frustrated because they have no venue to exhibit their work, no gallerist who supports their vision, and no income that reflects their hard work. Are some artists just lucky?

While many outsider artists do not want to share their work with the public, most artists would like their talent to be acknowledged but feel excluded from the art market. But art doesn’t exist in a vacuum.  There are established social structures made up of institutions (like art academies and museums), support systems of influential patrons and critics, and opinions about artists and artmaking. Often it comes down to a gallerist’s business decision about whether the artwork is marketable or not. Linda Nochlin (a feminist art historian) and Howard Becker (who wrote about the sociology of art) explain that art becomes public through collective actions: the cooperation of artists, suppliers of materials, art distributors, critics, and audiences. These individuals and organizations collaborate to create art worlds, like contemporary art, folk art, outsider art, etc.

While there is a world of outsider art in that there is a community of those who advocate for it, there is no outsider art world per se, for that would suggest the artists are engaged in critical dialogue with each other and their supporters, like collectors, gallerists, and academics. In reality, outsider artists are not connected to any art-related world; their work is personal, singular, and highly individualistic. They are not part of the discussion about the parameters and definitions of outsider art because they are not interested in such issues. Their work reaches the public only through the efforts of those who champion the genre.

Outsider art is outside the continuum of art history, outside the parameters recognized by established art institutions, and outside the collective discourse of the mainstream art world.