mawi

About this piece: Emma Hassencahl-Perley is a Wolasotqey (Wolastoqiyik) visual artist from Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in New Brunswick. This work titled mawi (together/ in a group) is inspired by Geese, their teachings about community, and the importance of maintaining strong relationships. Two symmetrical Geese are positioned in flight over Wabanaki double-curve iconography, which, when clustered together, can reference the relationships within a family or community. The half-sun symbolizes this territory — Wabanakik — where the sun first rises in the day.

Artist Biography: 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).