Her work is rooted in her lived experience, often dealing with themes of being an orphan and Inuit stories her grandmother told her.
Her mother, Gualittuaq, died shortly after Avaalaaqiaq was born, and her father, Itiplui, unable to care for her, so her grandparents raised her on the land in the customary Inuit style.
Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq began her art career between 1969 and 1970 with small soapstone carvings, often of animals with human heads.
Institutions that have held exhibitions of her work, as cited in Judith Nasby's book Irene Avaalaaqiaq: myth and reality include: In 1999, the University of Guelph awarded Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq an honorary doctorate of laws in recognition of her contribution to the development of Inuit art and her leadership role in the Nunavut community of Baker Lake.
[8] In her address, Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq remarked, "It makes me feel proud that my art is recognized after so many years of being an artist.