Dr. Heather Igloliorte, an Inuk-Newfoundlander from Nunatsiavut, is the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Decolonial and Transformational Indigenous Art Practices at the University of Victoria, BC, where she is a Professor in the Visual Arts Department. There, Heather directs the nation-wide Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership Project (2018-2025), which trains and mentors Inuit to work in professional positions across the arts. Heather has been a curator since 2005 and has worked on more than thirty curatorial projects including nationally and internationally touring exhibitions, permanent collection exhibits, festivals, and public art installations. Her curatorial work has recognized by The Hnatyshyn Foundation with the Award for Curatorial Excellence in Contemporary Art (2021).

In 2021, Igloliorte, Dylan Robinson and Tony Belcourt co-edited the book Promoting and Protecting the Arts and Cultural Expressions of Indigenous Peoples: A Compendium of Experiences and Actions. This milestone publication features contributions from over 30 individuals, weaving together first-hand experiences and diverse perspectives on promoting and safeguarding the arts, cultural expressions, and artistic practices of Indigenous Peoples. By sharing invaluable knowledge and insights, the contributors shed light on real-life encounters and current challenges posed by the misappropriation of Indigenous arts, cultural expressions, and artistic practices. This volume promotes a shared understanding of the issues and challenges of cultural misappropriation at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

Igloliorte has served on many advisories, councils and jurys. She is the current president of the board of the Inuit Art Foundation, and was the first Indigenous person in Canada to be awarded a Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal for her service to Indigenous art and artists, also in 2021.