Naja Abelsen (born 1964) is a Danish-Greenlandic painter and illustrator. Much of her art is inspired by the myths and sagas of Greenland. In addition to her work as a book illustrator, she has designed 18 stamps for Post Greenland. [1] [2]
Born on 19 April 1964 in Brønderslev, Abelsen is the daughter of a Greenlandic father, the teacher Adolf Konrad Boas Henrik Abelsen, a teacher, and a Danish mother, Kirsten Fokdal, manager of an old people's home. As a child, she spent nine years in Greenland's Qaqortoq where she was exposed to the cultures of both Denmark and Greenland. After attending Kunsthøjskolen i Holbæk (Holbæk's art folk school), she spend two years at Billedskolen in Copenhagen (1987–89) followed by six years at the Danish Design School (1990–96). [1]
Her art is inspired by the people and animals of Greenland, as can be seen in her book illustrations and her work on logos and postage stamps. [1]
In March 2017, Abelsen who has lived on the island of Ærø since 2001 opened a new gallery on Vestergade in Ærøskøbing where many of her works can be seen. [3]
Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately 350 km (220 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. With the population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the third-largest city in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut. The city is home to almost as many sled-dogs as people.
Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen was a Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist. He is notable for his role in Arctic exploration, namely the Thule Expeditions.
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denmark, the kingdom's territory in continental Europe and sometimes called "Denmark proper", and the realm's two autonomous regions: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The relationship between the three parts of the Kingdom is also known as The unity of the Realm.
Comer's Midden was a 1916 archaeological excavation site near Thule, north of Mt. Dundas in North Star Bay in northern Greenland. It is the find after which the Thule culture was named. The site was first excavated in 1916 by whaling Captain George Comer, ice master of the Crocker Land Expedition's relief team, and of members of Knud Rasmussen's Second Danish Thule Expedition who were in the area charting the North Greenland coast.
Jette Bang was a Danish photographer and film maker who is remembered for the large collection of photographs and films she took in Greenland, depicting the country and the way of life of its inhabitants before their old culture disappeared.
Jørgen Brønlund, was a Greenlandic polar explorer, educator, and catechist. He participated in two Danish expeditions to Greenland in the early 20th century.
Atassut is a liberal-conservative and unionist political party in Greenland. Founded on 29 April 1978, Atassut is an established partner of the Liberal Party of Denmark.
Miss Greenland is a national beauty pageant in Greenland.
Ivalo Abelsen is a Greenlandic teacher and artist, most known for a series of postage stamps she produced depicting animal, human and geometric designs relevant to Greenland's history.
Bodil Marie Kaalund-Jørgensen (1930–2016) was an award-winning Danish painter, textile artist and writer, who is remembered above all for her artwork in Danish churches and for her Bible illustrations. She was also a major contributor to the recognition of Greenland's cultural heritage, thanks in part to her Grønlands Kunst, published in English in 1983 as The Art of Greenland.
Aki-Matilda Tilia Ditte Høegh-Dam is a Danish-Greenlandic politician, who is a member of the Folketing for the Siumut political party. She was elected into parliament at the 2019 Danish general election, entering parliament at 22 years old, becoming its youngest member.
Niviaq Korneliussen is a Greenlandic author writing in Greenlandic and Danish. Her 2014 debut novel, HOMO sapienne was written and published in Greenlandic, as well as in a Danish translation by the author.
Henriette Ellen Kathrine Vilhelmine Rasmussen née Jeremiassen was a Greenlandic educator, journalist, women's rights activist and politician. In 1992, she provided support for the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in 1996, was appointed principal advisor to the ILO in connection with the 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. As a member of Inuit Ataqatigiit from the early 1980s, she strove for Greenlandic independence from Denmark and served as Greenland's Minister of Culture and Education (2003–2005).
Kîstat Lund was an Greenlandic graphic artist, illustrator, painter and schoolteacher. Educated at GU Nuuk High School and Viborg Katedralskole, she began drawing and painting while she was in high school and she worked with the techniques of painting in airbrush, acrylic, graphics, oil, paper cuts, pastel paintings, reliefs, tapestry weave templates and watercolour. Lund created art that was commissioned by conference rooms, institutions and schools. She was also a teacher at Narsap Atuarfia in Narsaq from 1975 after training as a teacher. Lund received scholarships and awards for her work and she was appointed Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1997.
Centrum Island is a small island in North Greenland, south East of the John Murray Island, and West of J.P. Koch Fjord. The island is described as 'inconspicuous and fladt'.
Naja Kristensen is a Greenlandic politician (Atassut).
Ib (Knud) Poulsen was the Danish-originating Captain of the Sirius Patrol, making him the first commander of a Greenlandic military force, as well as a Legion of Merit recipient, the only person in history to directly command the Patrol, and the sole historic commander of the "Army of Greenland".
The spiral case is an ongoing investigation into a birth control campaign in Greenland during the 1960s and 1970s. Thousands of Greenlandic Inuit girls and women had intrauterine devices placed, often without their consent, under the direction of Danish government officials. The program was created to control Greenland's birth rate. Greenlandic politician Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam has described the practice as genocide. In 2022, the Danish and Greenlandic governments agreed to hold a two-year investigation into the campaign.