Born near the Kazan River Falls, Mathew spent over two years in the Manitoba sanatorium in the early 1960s. Upon his return to Baker Lake, he was unable to hunt and trap, so he turned to carving as a source of income. When discussing carving, Aqigaaq said: "Carving nourishes my mind and I am content about that, because you have to feel content about what you do." Even if I didn't carve these memories, I would still feel them in my mind because I will never forget the way we used to live."*

Mathew is married to Marjorie Agluvak who is a Baker Lake wallhanging artist. Mathew's older brother, David Ikutaaq, is also a Baker Lake sculptor.

*An Inuit Perspective Marie Bouchard 2000

Exhibitions

• Arctic Mirror, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Baker Lake, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Baker Lake - Drawings, Sculpture, Tapestries, Theo Waddington
• Baker Lake Sculpture, Robertson Galleries
• Baker Lake Sculpture, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Baker Lake Sculpture, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Baker Lake Sculpture, The Upstairs Gallery
• Canadian Eskimo Arts Festival, Alaska Methodist University Galleries
• Collectors' Choice - An Exhibition of Important Inuit Sculpture, Waddington Galleries
• Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, presented at the General Assembly Building, United Nations
• Crafts from Arctic Canada/Artisanat de l'arctique canadien, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Die Kunst aus der Arktis, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, presented by Commerzbank
• Echoes of the Drum, Gallery of the Arctic
• Eskimo Sculpture, Isaacs Gallery
• Eskimo Sculpture '69, Robertson Galleries
• Eskimo Sculpture (and Drawings), Waddington Galleries
• Festival of Birds, The Arctic Circle
• Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition (first exhibition), Vancouver Inuit Art Society
• Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition (second exhibition), Vancouver Inuit Art Society
• Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Group Exhibition, Waddington Gallery
• Group Exhibition, Lippel Gallery
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Inspiration Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery
• Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum University of Virginia
• Inuit Masterworks, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Sculpture 1982, The Raven Gallery
• Keewatin Sculpture: Reflections of the Spirit, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Masters of the Arctic: An Exhibition of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks, Presented by the Amway Corporation at the United Nations General Assembly
• Masterwork Sculpture 1985, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Masterwork Sculpture 1986, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Mathew Aqigaaq (Akeeya), The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Mathew Aqigaaq - Recent Sculpture, Theo Waddington
• Mathew Aqiggaaq, Theo Waddington
• Mathew Aqiggaaq (Akeah) of Baker Lake, The Upstairs Gallery
• Mathew Aqiggaaq - Recent Sculpture, Waddington's
• Mathew Aqiggaaq Sculpture, Inuit Galerie
• Mother & Child, Marion Scott Gallery
• Mother and Child: Selections from the Inuit Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Qamanittuaq: The Art of Baker Lake, National Gallery of Canada
• Recent Acquisitions of Early Inuit Sculpture, Arctic Artistry
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterwork Exhibitors of the Canadian Arctic, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Sheokju of Cape Dorset & Eleven Sculptors of Baker Lake, Victor Waddington Gallery
• Spirits and Dreams - Arts of the Inuit of Baker Lake, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Stone Sculpture of Baker Lake Eskimos, Pucker/Safrai Gallery
• Stones, Bones, Cloth, and Paper: Inuit Art in Edmonton Collections, Edmonton Art Gallery
• Takamit - Canadian Eskimo Art: Selections from Private Collections and the Government of Canada, Organized by La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
• Ten Masterworks Exhibition Artists, Gallery of the Arctic
• The Early Years: Sculpture from the 50's and 60's, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario, University of Guelph
• The Mulders' Collection of Eskimo Sculpture, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Spirit of the Land, The Koffler Gallery
• The Tactile Eskimo Art Collection/ Collection de sculptures esquimaudes appreciables par le toucher, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, in cooperation with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
• The World Around Me, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
• Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo Art, Casino Gallery, Ravinia Park
• Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery

Collections

• Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada
• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor
• Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Macmillan-Bloedel Limited, Vancouver
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg

Publications

• CATALOGUE OF INUIT ART., Author: Walrus Imports, Publication: Kennebunkport, Maine: Walrus Imports. (1974)
• CLYDE RIVER — Sculpture, Author: Canadian Arctic Producers, Publication: Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative Limited. (1980)
• ESKIMO CARVINGS AND PRINTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF YORK UNIVERSITY., Author: York University. Art Gallery, Publication: Toronto, Ont., Art Gallery of York University, (1971)
• SEEPEE IPELLIE — Recent Sculpture, Author: Ipeelee, Seepee, Publication: Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative Limited. (1981)