Creation in the Dawnland

February 7 – April 19

Creation in the Dawnland

A Wabanaki Group Exhibition

Launch: Friday, February 7, 6:00pm
End: Saturday, April 19

Join us on February 7th in the AX Gallery for the opening of Creation in the Dawnland, an inspiring group exhibition showcasing the work of four talented Wabanaki artists: Mel Beaulieu, Nancy Oakley, Jolene Robichaud, and Natasha Sacobie.

This exhibition celebrates the creative brilliance of these artists as they draw from the rich traditions of Wabanaki cultural practices, blending them with contemporary techniques to craft works that are both rooted in heritage and innovatively modern. Each piece invites viewers to explore the evolving narratives of Wabanaki identity, resilience, and artistry, demonstrating how traditional methods and materials can be reimagined to speak to today’s world.

Through their art, these four creators honour the legacies of their ancestors while offering fresh perspectives that inspire new connections between past and present. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the transformative power of Indigenous art in Creation in the Dawnland.

Creation in the Dawnland runs from February 7, 2025 through April 19, 2025

About the Artists

Jolene Robichaud

Jolene Robichaud is an Acadian & Mi’kmaw queer artist. She grew up in Richibucto, NB, while her L’nu roots are from across the river in Indian Island First Nation. Currently residing in Montréal, Jolene works full time for her business called JR Fashion Designs. It is under this business that she creates wares as a fashion designer, an artisan and a textile artist. With 6 collections under her belt as a freelance designer, she was fortunate enough to have recently shown her latest collection called L’nu Glyphs & Glam at both St John’s Fashion Week and Montreal Fashion Week.

Mel Beaulieu

Mel Beaulieu (they/them) is a member of Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation, living and working in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Mel blends traditional craftsmanship with developing technology—crafting intricate beadwork and transporting it into the immersive landscapes of augmented and virtual reality. The result is work that serves as a testament to the fluidity of gender and identity, the resilience of tradition, and the endless possibilities that arise when innovation and culture converge.

Mel’s creativity serves as a celebration of connection to the natural world, the profound ties of family, and the links we are between past and future. To keep up with Mel’s work, you can follow them on Instagram @the.beads.knees or online at thebeadsknees.ca.

Photo Credit to Sam Evans

Nancy Oakley

Nancy E. Oakley is a Mi’kmaq and Wampanoag artist living on Eskasoni First Nation reserve in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.

She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian arts, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she studied photography and Pottery. She then moved to Nova Scotia, where she studied at Nova Scotia School of Art and Design, taking courses in photography, ceramics, weaving and jewellery making before leaving to start her family. She is now a mother of 6 and a grandmother of 7 and counting.

Oakleys’s artistic journey embodies the richness of indigenous heritage and a deep connection to the land. Through hand shaped softly curved pottery vessels, Nancy creates culturally significant pieces that imbue her traditional knowledge and honours her role as a woman, mother and grandmother. In an intrinsic collaboration with Mother Earth, Oakley’s expression of knowledge, feelings and experiences can be seen in the processes of her pieces, which are polished with a stone and smoke fired with seaweed, sawdust and fir tips, allowing the smoke to talk through the pottery.

Oakley is the 2023 recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Nova Scotia) and has exhibited works in the Smithsonian American Indian Art Museum, Washington DC (2024) Plymouth Center for the Arts, Plymouth, MA (2023), Gallery on the Queen, Fredericton NB (2021-2023) Yorkville Village: Toronto, ON (2022), Beaverbrook Gallery, Fredericton, NB (2022), Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, ME (2019-2020) to name a few.

Natasha Sacobie

Natasha Sacobie is a Wolastoqiyik visual artist based in Bilijk (Kingsclear First Nation). Her artistic practice blends traditional and contemporary mediums, beginning with oil painting and beading. She now specializes in porcupine quillwork, her pieces known for their deep connection to nature, exploration of exoticism, and honouring all relatives.

A graduate of the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, Sacobie completed Advanced Studio Practice in 2023. Her work is featured in public and private collections and has been exhibited at venues such as the Lieutenant Governor’s House, the George Fry Gallery, Saint John Arts Centre, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Boston Museum, and Gallery on Queen. Most recently, Dorchester’ Keillor House, Art Mur in Montreal and Expression Centre d’exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe, both for The Biennale of Contemporary Indigenous Art (BACA), 7th edition. In 2023, Sacobie received the Heather Stone Emerging Artist Award in 2023 and has been the recipient of two Artsnb grants.

Creation in the Dawnland