CBU Announces Meagan Musseau as 2024 Artist in Residence

Cape Breton University Announces Meagan Musseau as 2024 Artist in Residence

Cape Breton University is pleased to announce Meagan Musseau as the University’s 2024 Artist in Residence. An L’nu woman, artist and dancer from Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland), Musseau currently lives in Sydney, Unama’ki. She runs an interdisciplinary arts practice, working with a combination of customary art forms and new media. Her wide breadth of work includes textiles, basketry, beadwork, land-based performance, drawing, painting, video and installation. 

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit, learn and share as an Artist in Residence at CBU this year,” says Musseau. “I believe the arts are incredibly important to both personal and collective wellness, through creative expression and storytelling.”

Annually, a CBU committee comes together to select one applicant as that year’s Artist in Residence. The initiative was created to help develop and strengthen relationships with artists who are passionate about enriching the campus and community life of CBU by supporting their research, development and practice-sharing.  During the four-month residency, the artist pursues creative projects, connects with students and employees and engages with the Island community.

“The Artist in Residence program is an integral part of CBU’s overall Creative Arts Strategy to provide more opportunity for students, employees and the general public to connect with creative processes,” says Todd Hiscock, Creative Arts Coordinator. “I am very excited and happy to welcome Meagan Musseau as CBU’s 2024 Artist in Residence. The selection committee feels Meagan’s work is important – it’s a new way of considering traditional craft and contemporary movement and visual art together. Her use of place in her work will be uniquely suited to CBU, its students and the broader community.”

During her time at CBU, Musseau will be hosting a variety of artist talks and workshops with topics including Creating an Art Exhibition and Exploring Materials in Contemporary Art. 

As an L’nu artist, Musseau has found unique ways to integrate her heritage into her various art forms. She often works with both natural and synthetic materials as a way to interweave stories of adaptation, continuation and resilience into her creations. Her incredible body of work explores themes such as kinship, harvesting, connection to the land and matriarchal empowerment. Throughout the last number of years, Musseau has had the opportunity to feature her contemporary art exhibitions in galleries across Canada, the United States and Iceland. 

“I’m excited to work on a new project during my residency at CBU,” Musseau says. “This project focuses on storytelling through Mi’kmaq basketry and drawing.” Musseau intends to create a large-scale drawing that depicts a story of basket makers as a way to honour the passage of knowledge through generations. 

Students are invited to participate in workshops and attend artist talks to learn and experience interdisciplinary arts through customary art forms and new media. For a full list of community and on-campus events, visit cbu.ca/events. 

For more information on the Artist in Residence program, visit cbu.ca/artist-in-residence.