Ornamentum Lecture Series: Cultural Vessels – When 1960s Mi’kmaq Design and Stories Met Traditional English Bone China

Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 7PM (EDT)
ONLINE – Register on Eventbrite

The trade of “Indian Arts and Crafts” with European settlers and explorers has taken place since the 1600s. Indigenous objects entered into European public and private collections through trade economics, becoming popular during the nineteenth century. European travellers and explorers were inclined to collect objects from foreign lands, especially souvenirs. Join Emma Hassencahl-Perly a Wolastoqey artist, curator and educator from Negotiuk (Tobique First Nation) and John Leroux manager of collections and exhibitions at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery who will talk about the first modern Indigenous artists in eastern Canada that developed an international following almost overnight.

Various teacups, saucers, creamers and sugar bowls from Royal Tuscan’s “The Micmac Indian Legends of the Little People” fine China set, 1964 Photos: John Leroux

BIOGRAPHIES

Emma Hassencahl-Perley is a Wolastoqey visual artist, curator, and educator from Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation), New Brunswick. She is the co-author of Wabanaki Modern: The Artistic Legacy of the 1960s “Micmac Indian Craftsmen”, Alexandrya Eaton: Everything in Between, and Psi kekw kəti mewi · Tout va bien aller · Everything is gonna be fine · Wela’sitew na, a volume assessing the New Brunswick Art Bank on its fiftieth anniversary. Hassencahl-Perley is a graduate of Mount Allison University’s fine arts program and is currently pursuing an MA in art history at Concordia University where her research examines Wabanaki identity through material and visual culture. Her visual art practice focuses on beadwork, soft sculpture, performance, and large mural installation painting.

John Leroux has practiced in the fields of art history, architecture, visual art, curation, and education. He is currently the manager of collections and exhibitions at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Leroux holds a bachelor of architecture degree from McGill University, a master’s in art history from Concordia University, and a PhD in history from the University of New Brunswick. He was a team member of Canada’s entry at the 2012 Venice Biennale in architecture, and he has taught at the University of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, and St. Thomas University. Leroux is the author or editor of sixteen books, including Peter Powning: A Retrospective, The Lost City: Ian MacEachern’s Photographs of Saint John, and Wabanaki Modern: The Artistic Legacy of the 1960s “Micmac Indian Craftsmen”.