Emily (Ema) Elizabeth Hassell 1976 is a British- born Canadian American an autodidact conceptual, socially engaged artist, and activist.

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Creator, professional sculptor, awarded multidisciplinary social artist, with 31 years international experience as an exhibiting artist, community, and Sociocultural Development.  Endorsed by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO for her committed development work, building sustainable equitable social and cultural community-led initiatives in Guatemala and abroad. She has worked extensively with diverse vulnerable communities, ecological, health, rehabilitation, and cultural institutions, local, national, and international authorities, associations, organizations, and municipal governments. Founded and Co- founded ephemeral spaces, collectives, Arts & cultural initiatives in Ireland, New York,  and Guatemala. 

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Hassell is a self taught sculptor, and social artist. Her work moves between mediums, including clay and ceramics, drawing, sculpture, found object, assemblage art, mixed media, poetry, and photography. Hasells works are figurative, conceptual, and vernacular. Often identified as similar to  Arte Povera, her work carries a consistent signature trait of using materials , collecting what she find in her immediate surroundings. Based on extensive research to find their core meaning, she uses repurposed objects and materials conceptually, contextually and metaphorically, allowing them to create stories infused with historical, sociological, and current issues.

 

Although her work has been exhibited in many private galleries and museums Hassell is known for independently producing large-scale exhibitions in accessible  to all alternative spaces such as warehouses, houses, and public spaces where four of her eight completed bodies of art work have been shown. The vast majority of the work she has produced and been commissioned has gone directly into collections around the world.

 

 

Art & Cultural Development  

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1995- 97 Hassell was a founding member of la Casa Bizarra, an avant-garde group of post war generation artists including Jose Osorio founder of Caja Ludica and Festival del Centro Historico, Giovanni Pinzon of Bohemia Suburbana, Pancho Toralla and among others impulsing the birth of Contemporary, street, and public social art in Guatemala City. 

 

2000-03 As Creative Director and Founder she privately sponsored and initiated The House at 0-27 working with over 20 artists including 2001 Venice Biennale Young Creator Award winner Anibal Lopez A-153167 represented by Ida Pissani, Promoteo Gallery Italy, in residence he produced the works “Se Vende”, “Se Aquila”,“ Se Presta” “ Se Regala” and “Esto Texto no tiene ningun significado”.   

 

2006-09 The originator, Co- Founder, and member of The Experimental Artists Collective/ Gallery 345 Hudson NY Hassell co curated and co directed the collective artists space working with of over 30 local, national, and international artists including Mark Moffit, ex assistant to Elseworth Kelly, with the likes of the acclaimed NYC Gallerist John Webber visiting the space. 

 

2017- Hassell founded The Alliance for Development of Environmental & Cultural, that gained non financial endorsement by UNESCO. She has worked intensively with local authorities, municipal governance, conservation commissions, cultural institutions, galleries, museums, organizations, associations, and artists in Antigua Guatemala. With a major deficit of representation of Contemporary and accessible Arts in the city, Hassells focus was on creating a unified Public arts and culture sector,  developing, promoting, and designing accessible to all offerings. She engaged in cultural and social urban development  projects within the upper municipal circles. She also served as an independent advisor orienting numerous budding initiatives to establish greater working alignment within the framework of a city that it is both the countries number one destination and a highly regulated Unesco World Heritage Site.

 

Focused on fortifying alliance partners ships, increasing coordination between stakeholders, strengthening internal systems to effectively address and resolve root issues such as marginalization, violence, poverty, and migration. She serves as a Process Facilitator, mediator, and development advisor assisting in consensus building, decision making, strategic direction community planning, developing and setting in place appropriate corresponding nationally owned community- driven needs based solutions, projects, and initiatives; that increase livelihoods, infrastructure, and sustainable systems.

 

Gaining the endorsement of Unesco Guatemala in 2018, forming the first group of national new media artists 2018, aiding Antigua Viva the cities budding cultural events producers 2018- 20, introducing Paiz Foundation to the original idea 2019, setting the stage for their work together with Unesco to host the cities first new media arts Light Festival 2024. Bringing artists together, organizing and Producing two major Digitally reproduced fine arts exhibitions projected onto city walls with ‘Arte Social” 2018, and “Aperture” a diverse portfolio of back and white portraits from the nations top photographers and national archives; was one of the only exhibitions to take place in the world during the pandemic in 2020 to be effectively seen live in person by thousands. In municipal urban planning, presenting and designing a housing plan for the homeless, acting as the primary outdoor sculpture park advisor for the development of Parque Lineal Pensativo with founder Jean-Marc Vayssier Nim Palow.

 

2018-20 She Coordinated and produced a widely seen accessible to all public outdoor Digital Projections of fine art, archival and contemporary photography in the city of Antigua in 2018-20 with artists including Daniel Chauche, Jorge Chavarria, Manuel Morillo, Jorge Cuyun, Gg, Michael Plyler, Rae Leeth, Pablo Swezey, and more; in conjunction with Antigua Viva, Nimpalow, city municipal authorities, the church, City Conservation boards and Commissions.

Hassell has been an active participant in large scale social and cultural change, in the strategic positioning of municipalities and cities, including Guatemala City 1995-2003, Antigua Guatemala 2016-2020, and Lake Peten Itza region, Peten 2020- present.  

 

2020- She is currently living and working in the remote north of Guatemala in an extremely vulnerable agrarian Mayan indigenous town that is situated in an ecologically fragile at risk strip of land which is a buffer zone between the frontline border of the Tikal National Park Biosphere and Lake Peten Itza. She is working with her local community and authorities addressing the devastating level of poverty, establishing the development of ecology based Arts, sustainable green systems, indigenous owned start ups, and managed community land trusts that have the ability to provoke a broader regional movement. 

 

Hassell is working closely with the villages first on site Mayan indigenous social assistance and ecological community organization the Association of Integral Peasant and Environmental Development of Peten, helping to establish and secure major holdings of at risk land for the purposes of shared use, living and working sustainably, regenerative agriculture, rejuvenation, and permanent natural tropical forest habitat conservation. She is Co- Developing an intentional community with the Association centered on social assistance, culture, and ecology; fostering the arts, regeneration, sustainable organic agriculture, permaculture practices, reforestation, restoration of forests under tenured land trusts for permanent conservation.

 

While developing her ecology based public art works, she is additionally heading up a new community cultural arts center and workshop for Traditional and Contemporary Ceramics, forming a Mayan indigenous women-led ceramics Cooperative in San Pedro, San Jose, Peten.

 

She is working on ecology based sculptures, land art, installations, socially engaged, public and environmental art. She is creating with, and testing out locally sourced materials and natural fibers that are abundantly native in the local environment. True to the regional emphasis on nature and conservation, the work is being made with ecological materials, such as sustainably sourced precious hardwoods, left over banana, and coconut plant bi products. She is processing large amounts of clay that she is able to dig from the ground underfoot. 

 

Together with Local Mayan Indigenous children, the community, and local professional artisans, she has started to create large scale public sculptures that will be placed in central locations in different villages and towns around the lake. Accompanied by an on site exhibition that will become part of a museum retrospective exhibition in Antigua in 2026/27.

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Exhibition History  

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2001-03 Hassell had her first solo show “ War for Love”  at the Contemporary Art Gallery  “La Libelula” for emerging artists curated by Aida Aguilar, she hit the scene producing in quick succession two other bodies of work and solo shows at Centro Cultural Metropolitano Historic Cultural Center with “Personal Diary” curated by Jose Osorio, and “Clowns and Thieves” G&T Foundation Canton Exposicion Guatemala. 

 

2004 She was awarded the Henriette Reiss Award for the social impact of her cultural work in Guatemala exhibiting at the Red Mills Merchant & Ivory Foundation NY in 2004. 

 

2006 Returning to New York, initiating co- founding the Experimental Artists Collective at Gallery 345, in Hudson NY with a new group of NY artists. Curating exhibitions for numerous US and International artists.

 

2008 With private patronage she singlehandedly put on a solo show of her 4th body of work “Waves”  at Basilica Industria  attendance of over 1200 under previous ownership of Patrick Doyle. 

 

2009  With a Studio Grant Under the guidance and mentorship of Peter Barton, Hudson River Art Projects she produced“ Bloodworks” and provided her with introductions to Max Kansas City era NYC Annina Nosei,Gerard Malanga, Robert C Morgan, Robert Pardo, Ulrich Roesch of the Joseph Beuys International Cultural Center in Achberg, Lindau, Germany, at the Institute for Social Development Research archive. 

 

2010-13  Hassell received both the Think Outward Credere Grant, Center for Social Research, followed shortly by a substantial studio grant from Artefact & Robert Pardo Gallery creating a full body of work “Immemorial”.

 

2014-16  She produced “Lines” and “Grace” which was not exhibited publicly, but sold directly from the studio to private clientele. 

 

2016 Hassell Returning to Guatemala and received a number of commissions including magazine illustrations, mural design, and a article for the national newspaper, participating with four pieces in the collective  exhibition TATO at the prestigious Museo de Casa Santa Domingo Antigua Guatemala. 

 

 

Individual Exhibitions and Completed Bodies of work

 

2015 “Grace” Shown and sold privately to collectors, Ghent , NY   

2013 “Lines”  Shown and sold privately to collectors Ghent NY 

2011  Immemorial Robert Pardo Studio Grant, Hudson NY 

2009 "Bloodwork" Studio 444, Hudson River Art Projects, Hudson NY

2008 "Tides" Basilica Industria, Hudson NY

2004 "Payasos y Ladrones" Canton Exposition, Fundaccion G&T Continental, C.A

2003 "Diary" Metropolitan Cultural Center, Guatemala curated by Jose Osorio

2002 "Guerra por Amor" Gavroche, Guatemala curated by Aida Aguilar

 

Collective Exhibitions

 

2017 TATO Paseo de Museo Santa Domingo, Antigua Guatemala 

2010 "Water" Basilica Industria Hudson NY

2008 Mc Daris Fine Arts Hudson NY 

2007 /2008 Various Exhibitions 345 Artists Collective, Hudson NY

2007 CCCA Arts Walk, Hudson NY

2006 La Puerta Roja, Guatemala, Central America

2005 Metropolitan Cultural Center, Guatemala,Central America Curated by Jose Osorio

2005 Museo Ixchel, Guatemala,C.A. Curated by 

2005 Sol del Rio, cuarated by Victor Martinez, Guatemala, Central America

2004 Red Mills, Merchant and Ivory Foundation, NY

2004 Sol del Rio, Victor Martinez, Guatemala, Central America

2003 Hipersensitivity, The House at 0-27 Guatemala., Central America

2002 Coloquia, Guatemala, Central America

2001 The House at 0-27 Guatemala Central America

2001 Imagica, Antigua, Guatemala, Central America.

2001 Semana Bizarra, Guatemala, Central America 

1998 Casa Bizarra, Guatemala, Central America.

1997 Casa Bizarra, Guatemala, Central America.

1996 Casa Bizarra, Guatemala, Central America

1995 Arts Walk, Hudson, NY

 

Awards

2010 Artefact Gallery  Studio Grant

2009 Hudson River Art Projects, 

2008 Credere Grant 

2004 Henriette Reiss Award 

 

Ephemeral Art Projects

2001- 03 Executive Director  and Co Founder of 0-27, Guatemala City 

2006-08 Co founder of the Experimental Artists Collective and Gallery 345, Hudson NY 

 

Workshops

2005-06 HLM, Antigua,Guatemala

2003-04 Casa Comal, Guatemala 

 

Televisión

2007 Guatevision HLM interview on Equine Therapy HLM

2004 Guatevision EL Vagon, interview with Igal Permuth on exhibition “War for Love” 

2003 Guatevision El Vagon, Igal Permuth on other works

 

Bibliography

La Cuerda, Lucia Escobar 2006

References for Los Bizarros and la Casa Bizarra

"El inicio de arte urbano en la ciudad de Guatemala después de la firma de la paz" DeGuate.com 2009

"Anologia de ocho Expresiones Artistico..." Thesis by Luis Alberto Torres Morales 2009

"La Casa Bizarra, preludio del arte Contemporanea en Guatemala"  by Javier Payeras

La Hora http://www.gtcultura.com/a-20-anos-de-la-casa-bizarra/

Siglo 21 http://www.s21.gt/2016/12/casa-bizarra-vigesimo-aniversario/

“Grappling with Atrocity” by John Shillington 2002

2016 “Una no-generation de Arte y Cultura” Sergio Valdes Pedroni La Hora http://lahora.gt/una-no-generacion-arte-cultura-urbana/ 

“Centroamericana 22” by AAVV https://books.google.com.gt/books?id=TMSMAwAAQBAJ&dq=la+casa++bizarra+guatemala&source=gbs_navlinks_s

2016 Estuardo Prado  https://casiliteral.com/tag/casa-bizarra/

Politics in art and art in politics by Marivi Veliz http://www.revistasexcelencias.com/en/arte-por-excelencias/editorial-13/resenas/politics-art-and-arts-politics-guatemala

 

Published works 

‘Uniendo la voz de un afecto collectivo” Emily Hassell 2017 http://lahora.gt/uniendo-la-voz-afecto-colectivo-historico/

 

 

 

 

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