Plug In ICA

Currently in our bookstore: SCRAPBOOK: From the Archives of Dave Barber “Co-edited by Andrew Burke and Clint Enns.
 A tribute to the late Cinematheque Senior Film Programmer, Dave Barber, the book transforms decades of press clippings, program notes, posters, and personal artifacts into a cohesive and deeply personal portrait, celebrating Barber’s enduring influence on Canadian film culture. Andrew Burke is a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Winnipeg. He is the author of Hinterland Remixed: Media, Memory, and the Canadian 1970s published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Clint Enns is a visual artist, writer, and curator living in Tiohtià:ke / Montréal. He has PhD in cinema and media studies from York University and has edited several collections including Mike Hoolboom: Work, Imprints: The Films of Louise Bourque, and John Porter’s CineScenes: Documentary Portraits of Film Scenes, Toronto and Beyond, 1978 – 2015." . . . Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio . . . #SCRAPBOOKFromtheArchivesofDaveBarber #WinnipegFilmGroup #pluginicabookstore

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is excited to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director/Curator, Nadja Pelkey. After a careful and considered search that attracted national and international candidates, Pelkey was selected by the search committee for her collaborative, critical, relationship-centered, and research-driven approach to curatorial, strategic, and community-based work. Nadja Pelkey is an Artist and Curator based in Waawiyatanong  (Windsor, ON across the river from Detroit, MI). She holds an MFA from the University of Guelph, and brings over 15 years of experience in the arts including academic and leadership positions. Recently, Pelkey worked in curatorial, programming, and community-engaged roles at Art Windsor-Essex, collaborating across departments to lead digital strategy, cross‑sector collaborations, public art initiatives, research, and digital projects like the forthcoming 'Iain Baxter&: What’s the Big Idea?.' Nadja will be joining the team this June. She looks forward to meeting the Manitoba artistic community at the opening of Sarah Anne Johnson's exhibition, 'House on Fire' opening June 4 at 7PM. "My vision for Plug In ICA is grounded in respect for the institution’s more than fifty‑year history as a pivotal space for contemporary practice. Plug In has consistently championed experimentation, exchange, critical inquiry, and the vital role of artists in our cultural landscape. Through the last five decades, Plug In has remained committed to research-driven exhibitions, rigorous interpretation, and public engagement across local, national, and international contexts.  It is an honour to join Plug In at this marker in its institutional history, and to celebrate that history with the forthcoming anniversary publication, Plug In 50/10." Read more about Nadja's vision for Plug In ICA on our website 🔗 linked in our bio

There's just 1 week left to experience 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence. Plan your visit today! 🥀 'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis. Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression. April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. 📸 : ‘Observance’, April Hickox, installation view at Plug In ICA, 2026. Photo courtesy of Karen Asher. #pluginica #sheilaspence #aprilhickox #transcendence

Currently in our bookstore: Border Crossings Issue 170: C a n a d a “Issue #170 of Border Crossings explores contemporary Canadian art, examining social themes, materiality, and notable practises. Feature interviews in this issue include artists Abbas Akhavan, Brenda Draney, and Nadia Myre. Works by Carrie Allison, Donigan Cumming, Sylvia Matas, Annie MacDonell, An Te Liu, Shannon Bool, Bea Parsons, and M.E. Sparks are covered. Plus pages from the Border Crossings' archive." . . . Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio . . . #BorderCrossingsIssue170 #Canada #pluginicabookstore

Have you visited our current exhibition yet? 💐 Stop by today from 12 - 6PM to view 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence. 'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis. Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression. April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. 📸 : ‘Lexicon for Loss’, Sheila Spence, installation view at Plug In ICA, 2026. Photo courtesy of Karen Asher. #pluginica #sheilaspence #aprilhickox #transcendence

Currently in our bookstore: Lori Blondeau: I'm Not Your Kinda Princess "After years of planning, in the spring of 2021, we mounted a solo exhibition by renowned Winnipeg-based artist Lori Blondeau. Coinciding with the artist’s honour by the Governor’s General Award, the exhibition reflected on a selected range of Blondeau’s thirty-plus-year practice, paired together with a newly commissioned sculptural and auditory installation. The entire exhibition encompassed both of our galleries and opened to an especially uncertain time in the world, when, owing to a global pandemic, many public gatherings were restricted or completely prohibited. Several cultural institutions took required precautions regarding their services to the wider public, halting and limiting the rollout of programming or finding alternative ways to offer programs to audiences. Plug In ICA was no different in this respect, and as a result, this exhibition was extended and on view for five consecutive months, allowing necessary time for as many visitors as possible. Traces of this period even influenced aspects of the exhibition's commissioned work..." Book design by Taylor Jolin, an Ojibwe artist and graphic designer based in Bawaating. Hardcover, 208 pages Please join us on May 14 from 5 - 7PM at Plug In ICA to celebrate the launch of our newest publication, 'Lori Blondeau: I’m Not Your Kinda Princess' ✨ 📸: Images courtesy of Daisy Wu . . . Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio . . . #ImNotYourKindaPrincess #LoriBlondeau #pluginicabookstore

Our current exhibition 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence is on view until 6PM tonight✨️ 'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis. Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression. April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.

Plug In ICA is elated to announce our upcoming exhibition, 'House on Fire' featuring Sarah Anne Johnson. We invite you to join us for the opening reception in our galleries on June 4, at 7PM. 'House on Fire', is the title of a long series of works produced by artist Sarah Anne Johnson. Coming from a deeply personal narrative, 'House on Fire' is the artist’s belated response to a family trauma unearthed and fragmented, but one that she has ultimately reassembled. Johnson’s grandmother, Velma Orlikow, was a victim of psychiatric experiments performed at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal. The installation, which centres on a dollhouse of secrets, also includes altered family photos, archival newspaper clippings, and small bronze figures of distress. Over time, the project grew from the original installation to include performances created for video. This iteration of 'House on Fire' is currently presented as a reconsideration of the original installation and an introduction to new works by this remarkable artist. Sarah Anne Johnson is a Winnipeg-born multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, painting, sculpture, video, and performance. She holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Sarah is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and her work is held in several major permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum. Sarah is best known for her photo-based practice in which she physically and digitally alters large-format prints with oil paint, gold leaf, stickers, and other materials. Plug In ICA would like to thank Michael Nesbitt for making this exhibition possible. 📸 : Sarah Anne Johnson, 'House on Fire', 2008, mixed media, image courtesy of the artist

Come stop by our galleries and see 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence until 6PM tonight✨️ 'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis. Sheila Spence's 'Lexicon for Loss' featured in Gallery 1, is a collection of images that began in early 2023. This exploration emerged from a deep personal loss and a move from the prairies to Vancouver Island. Upon closer examination, viewers will notice subtle details such as wilting flowers, imperfect leaves affected by garden pests, and the presence of insects within the compositions. Like the still life paintings of the 17th century, the 'Lexicon for Loss' images capture themes of the passage of time and the impermanence of life. 🥀 Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression. See artist bio for April Hickox in the comments section below.

🗓️ Mark your calendars and join us in our galleries on May 14 from 5 - 7PM to celebrate the launch of Plug In ICA's newest publication, 'Lori Blondeau: I’m Not Your Kinda Princess'. After years of planning, in the spring of 2021, we mounted a solo exhibition by renowned Winnipeg-based artist Lori Blondeau. Coinciding with the artist’s honour by the Governor’s General Award, the exhibition reflected on a selected range of Blondeau’s thirty-plus-year practice, paired together with a newly commissioned sculptural and auditory installation. Readers of the book will encounter thoughtful writings on Blondeau’s impactful work, with perspectives from celebrated artist and friend Rebecca Belmore, Michif curator and scholar Cathy Mattes, and mentees of Blondeau, artists Annie Beach and Chukwudubem Ukaigwe. Additionally, the original exhibition essay by Anishinaabe curator Franchesca Hebert-Spence has been included, along with an expansive conversation she conducted with Blondeau as part of an associated program to the exhibition. Documentation of the exhibition at the Plug In galleries and the tour which took place in Montreal and Hamilton, is also featured in the book. It is our hope that Blondeau’s power as a creative voice and visual storyteller will reach many near and far, and that this modest publication can enable that in its own way. Book design by Taylor Jolin, an Ojibwe artist & graphic designer based in Bawaating. The publication is hardcover, 208 pages and available online & in our bookstore Lori Blondeau is Cree/Saulteaux/Métis from Saskatchewan. Since the 1990s, Blondeau’s artistic practice in the fields of performance, photography and installation, along with her curatorial work and activities as co-founder and Executive Director of the Indigenous art collective TRIBE, has proved decisive to the ever-increasing centrality of Indigenous art and knowledge production in Canada. 📸: Images courtesy of Daisy Wu

Have you had a chance to see 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence yet? Make sure you do by May 20--you won't want to miss this beautiful exhibition! The galleries will be open until 6PM tonight💫 'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis. 📹️ The video played on the big screen in Gallery 2 is part of April Hickox's 'Observance'; an ongoing series that explores the passage of time, memory, and the cyclical nature of life through the intimate act of emptying and refilling a vase with flowers. The vase, a central symbol in this work, becomes a vessel for both absence and presence--a metaphor for the ephemeral beauty of relationships and the inevitability of change. April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. See artist bio for Sheila Spence in the comments section below.

💫 Sharon Alward's 'Totentanz', is easily considered as one of Plug In ICA's most memorable exhibitions to date. Alward made an impactful statement, stressing the need for compassion and mercy for those suffering of AIDS while informing the audience of the disease's far reach through her moving performance. Wayne Baerwaldt approached Sharon Alward with the idea that she could add an important work to the various AIDS awareness initiatives Wayne had organized. The invitation was made, however, months passed before the actual performance piece was developed by Sharon, who worked closely with Gilles Hébert to present it at Plug In. Wayne was not the Director at the time it was presented, but his initial invitation paid off when Sharon delivered her now legendary performance. Although met with controversy at the time, Alward demonstrated that the unpredictability of performance art can leave an even greater impact than intended. The legacy of 'Totentanz' is one that Plug In ICA is proud to be a part of. 💾 Find out more about the extensive history in our semi-centennial anniversary publication, 'Plug In 50/10'. Launching in 2026, this book celebrates Plug In ICA’s fifty years of operation from 1972 to 2022, with an introduction by Meeka Walsh and contributions from previous directors: Suzanne Gillies, Doug Sigurdson, Jon Tupper, Wayne Baerwaldt, Gilles Hébert, Carol Phillips, Anthony Kiendl, Jenifer Papararo and Allison Yearwood. Lavishly illustrated and designed, this publication charts Plug In’s peregrinations from a small, transient artist-run centre to the internationally renown institute of contemporary art that it is today. A complimentary copy of 'Plug In 50/10' is included with membership. 📸 : Images courtesy of Sheila Spence, Mark Humphries, and Plug In ICA archives.