Your Relatives in NYC
Korina Emmerich (Puyallup descent) ​
is a celebrated fashion designer and artist, known for her sustainable brand, EMME Studio, founded in 2015. Emmerich’s designs blend textile with social justice, emphasizing ethical production, minimal waste, and the reclamation of cultural heritage.
Her work has been featured in major exhibitions, including In America: A Lexicon of Fashion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dress Up at The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and at the Museum of Modern Art’s Weaving Together / Woven Histories : Textiles and Modern Abstraction.
Emmerich has showcased her collections at SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market, Native Fashion Week Santa Fe, Fashion and Arts Toronto, NYFW, and Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week.
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Co-founder of Relative Arts, a community space in New York City's East Village, Emmerich fosters Indigenous creativity and education. She has collaborated with institutions like the Hudson River Museum, RISD, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, ICA Boston and the Denver Art Museum. She has contributed to the development of multidisciplinary programs highlighting sustainability, ethical fashion and cultural reinvigoration helping shape the future of art and fashion.
Liana Shewey (Mvskoke)
is Co-founder and Director of Programming at Relative Arts, where she curates exhibitions, public engagement, and collaborative projects that center Indigenous creatives. Shewey’s interdisciplinary practice explores Indigenous futurism, community storytelling, and family archives. Her work spans event production, installation, and public education in pursuit of building solidarity, reclaiming visual sovereignty, preserving ancestral memory, and celebrating Indigenous joy.
With a background in live music production, she has contributed her expertise to curating events in cities across the country. Shewey has presented at institutions such as The New York Historical, The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Hudson River Museum, Brown University, William Paterson University, Rhode Island School of Design, Cornell University, Columbia University, and The MoMA.
Nishina Shapwaykeesic-Loft (Kanien’kehá:ka) ​
from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She is a 2S queer, multi-disciplinary artist in a wide spectrum of mediums. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from York University in Theatre Production and Design.
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Nishina is a beadwork artist based in Brooklyn, focusing on modern designs with traditional materials. She is most known for tufted earrings with statements such as Land Back and Awas. She is an emerging fashion designer of the fashion label, Creator Complex, with a focus in upcycling and traditional motifs from Haudenosaunee patterns. She is the Senior Art Director at Relative Arts NYC.