Emily Karaka was born in Tāmaki Makaurau and is of Ngāpuhi (Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Kahu o Torongare) and Waikato-Tainui (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Tamaoho, Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Rori-Te Ahiwaru, Ngāti Mahuta, and Ngāti Tahinga) affiliations.

Karaka has been exhibiting since 1977. Her paintings draw on diverse art-making traditions, including toi whakairo and abstract expressionism. Characterized by dazzling color and emotional intensity, they frequently incorporate text and tie into the artist’s longstanding work advocating kaitiakitanga and tino rangatiratanga.

Works by Karaka are held by important Aotearoa institutions, such as Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua. She produced a series of paintings for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, NIRIN (2020) and the landmark Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art (2020–21) at Toi o Tāmaki.

Recent exhibitions include Matarau (2022), curated by Shannon Te Ao, at City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi and Matariki Ring of Fire (2022) at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, which grew out of her 2021 McCahon House residency. A major solo exhibition, curated by Megan Tamati-Quennell, will be presented by Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates, in 2024.