About Emma
Emma Hassencahl - Perley is a Wolastoqiyik artist from Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in New Brunswick. Specializing in beadwork, murals, and digital illustration, Emma’s art is a reflection of her identity as an ehpit (woman) and Wolastoqwiw citizen of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Her work draws on the rich visual traditions of her nation, with themes that explore water, Wabanaki feminisms, and the Wabanaki double-curve motif—a symbol representing relationships, nationhood and community. These motifs form both a cultural and aesthetic foundation in Emma’s practice, linking ancestral Wabanaki material culture with digital storytelling techniques.
In 2023, she was one of four artists selected by MawiArt and Hockey Canada to paint hockey sticks for the IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax and Moncton. Emma has exhibited work nationally and internationally, at venues such as: the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Portland Museum of Art, SOFA in Chicago, and La Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone (BACA).
In addition to her work as an artist, Emma is the Curator of Indigenous Art at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton and teaches Indigenous Art History in the Wabanaki Visual Art Program at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University (2017) and a Master of Arts in Art History from Concordia University (2022).
Recent Murals and Projects
Beyond Behaviour X Fredericton public library
mawiyamok (a gathering), (2024)
SAINT JOHN CITY HALL COMMISSION
Menahqesk (where the sea takes the land), (2024)
Wolastoqey Tribal Council
"Wolastoqewiyik Nilun (We Are the Wolastoqey Peoples of the Beautiful, Bountiful River)", (2024)
Maritime college of forest technology
Abundance, (2023)
Portland museum of art (me)
Wesuwe-tpelomosu (Self-determination), (2023)
Fredericton high school
Possesomuwihke (there are many stars in the sky), (2023)
Mudwas Park, Tobique First Nation
Tobique Powwow, (2023)
Southern Victoria High School
kcicihtomuwakon (knowledge), (2023)
MAHSOS SCHOOL, TOBIQUE FIRST NATION
kakskimuhkahs (iris), (2023)
University of Moncton, Edmundston campus
Regenerative Love, (2022)
Portland Museum of Art
skitpeq (on the surface of water), (2022)
MAWIW INC., Fredericton office
FLOURISH, (2020)
Perth - Andover Middle School
Nit Leyic, 2022
Tobique Youth Center
psqahsuwe (it blooms), 2020
CITY OF FREDERICTON
Wici Kseltomomuwakon (With Love), 2019
Research Projects
Wabanaki Modern
Winner, Canadian Museums Association Award for Outstanding Achievement (Research) and APMA Best Atlantic Published Book AwardLonglisted, First Nation Communities READ AwardThe story of an overlooked group of cultural visionaries
The “Micmac Indian Craftsmen” of Elsipogtog (then known as Big Cove) rose to national prominence in the early 1960s. At their peak, they were featured in print media from coast to coast, their work was included in books and exhibitions — including at Expo 67 — and their designs were featured on prints, silkscreened notecards, jewelry, tapestries, and even English porcelain.
Early Days: Indigenous Art from the McMichael
A landmark publication bringing together more than seventy voices illuminating the rich array of Indigenous art held by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Under the editorial direction of Anishinaabe artist and scholar Bonnie Devine, Early Days gathers the insights of myriad Indigenous cultural stakeholders, informing us on everything from goose hunting techniques, to the history of Northwest Coast mask making, to the emergence of the Woodland style of painting and printmaking, to the challenges of art making in the Arctic, to the latest developments in contemporary art by Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island.