Laina Geetah

1998

Iqaluit, Nunavut Territory

Laina Geetah was born in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Laina’s biological parents are the late Tanya Curley, and artist Johnny Pootoogook. She is the granddaughter of the famous Kananginak Pootoogook. Since her mother died when she was very young, she was adopted by David Simiga and Saila Geetah.

Laina comes from a very artistic family on the Pootoogook side, yet she is a self-taught artist. In a short time she has developed a unique style that is all her own and not derived from any of the other artists in her family tree nor her community. She plays with simplified forms with bright colors as their background.