Melissa Tremblett (née Michelin) is a visual artist of Innu and English heritage from the community of Sheshatshiu, Labrador, currently based in Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk territory (Bay of Islands, Western Newfoundland). Tremblett is a conceptually diverse, interdisciplinary artist interweaving installation, performance, and photography, as well as traditional techniques such as doll making and beading. Through the lens of her contemporary Indigenous reality, Tremblett marries both her Indigenous and Settler roots uniting histories and legacies.
Tremblett graduated with a BFA in Visual Arts (2015) from the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland and a BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience (2011) from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her work has been exhibited nationally and abroad at venues such as the Grenfell Art Gallery, NL; The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, NL; Eastern Edge Gallery, NL; and Gatehouse Arts in Harlow, UK.
Tremblett has been the recipient of honours such as being the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Artist of the Year (2024), shortlisted for Milestone Award, Visual Arts Newfoundland and Labrador (2023), longlisted for the Artist of the Year Award through the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (2023), longlisted for the prestigious Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award (2019), Emerging Artist for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (2019), and the Corner Brook Emerging Artist of the Year (2018).
Her work has been supported through the Canada Council for the Arts Travel Grant (2020), two Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Professional Project Grants (2019, 2017), The Slaight Family Foundation Scholarships (2019), two Division of Fine Arts Mercy/Presentation Education Fund Awards, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland (2014, 2015) and the Short Family Award (2012) through Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Her work has been supported through provincial and federal grants including two Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) Creating, Knowing, Sharing Grant (2025, 2024), a CCA Explore and Create Grant (2023), two CCA Travel Grants (2025, 2020), five Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Professional Project Grants (2025, 2023, 2019, 2017), a Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Travel Grant (2025), The Slaight Family Foundation Scholarships (2019), among others.
Tremblett’s photographs are published in Elizabeth Yeoman, Exactly What I Said: Translating Words and Worlds, University of Manitoba Press, 2022; Tracing Ochre: Changing Perspectives on the Beothuk, University of Toronto Press, 2018; and Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue, Nitinikiau Innusi: I Keep the Land Alive, University of Manitoba Press, 2019.
