Aidan Cartwright
Artist Story
I believe that humans were destined to be artists; as a species, since the moment we had time to do anything other than survive, we have been making art.
I was born in Yellowknife and although I've spent over half my life here, my childhood was spent in northern communities such as Qikiqtarjuaq (Nunavut), Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. It was in Fort Good Hope where I developed an interest in art under my art teacher Alfred Masazumi.
Going to art school (Alberta College of Art and Design) was something of an accident, and probably my happiest one to date. I've since spent time dabbling in a lot of art forms such as painting, storytelling, performance art and animation or as I call it, Aidanimation. This involves making stop motion animation from a physical piece of work, so in the end you have both products. This allows me to develop an intimacy with my artwork and really capture the experience and creative process.
I'm always looking to experiment, explore and broaden my understanding of art making. Although I think it is good to have a vision, I find if you focus too much on a finished product it becomes easy to be disappointed and lose the value and joy of just creating art.
Aidan Cartwright was born in Yellowknife NWT in the spring of 1986. He spent the next few years living in different small communities across the NWT with his family before settling down in the community of Fort Good Hope. It was there that Aidan spent most of his childhood and developed his passion for hunting and being on the land, as well as an interest in visual arts and writing. His family moved once again to Yellowknife when Aidan was 12 and he has lived there since. In 2004, Aidan went to Calgary to attend the Alberta College of Art and Design where he obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009 with his primary interests being painting and animation. Aidan presently lives in Yellowknife where he continues to make and support the arts of all genres.
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