Plug In ICA and the Stages Speaker Series Presents: Seraphine, Seraphine, A film by and discussion with Krista Belle Stewart

Unit 73, CityPlace Mall, 333 St Mary Ave, Winnipeg

Link to talk https://vimeo.com/210434446

On Saturday, March 18^th, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is pleased to present a screening of Seraphine, Seraphine by Vancouver-based artist Krista Belle Stewart with a discussion to follow. This event marks the premiere presentation of Stewart’s 2014 film in Winnipeg. Using two channels, Seraphine, Seraphine moves between two temporal moments joined by a central figure, Stewart’s mother, Seraphine Stewart. In this presentation a 1967 docu-drama aired by the CBC conveying the story of the first Indigenous public health nurse in British Columbia is situated alongside excerpts of personal testimonial taken in Vancouver by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2013.

The constructed relationship between the films resonates with Stewart’s practice, which regularly makes precise and meaningful use of archival material and relies on juxtaposition to expose colonial erasure and foreground Indigenous identity. This screening comes at a poignant moment, in the wake of recent public remarks by Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak who spoke lamentingly about the absence of a celebratory attitude towards the “kindly and well-intentioned men and women and their descendants” who worked in residential schools. Stewart often draws from her family’s history to address social and political perspectives that have and continue to conceal the direct suppression of Indigenous cultures.

Krista Belle Stewart is known for her ability to draw out the complexities of archival material that allow for both intimacy, coincidence, and an atemporal meeting of histories across time. Working with video, photography, design, ephemera and textiles, Stewart straddles the gaps between personal and institutional histories through transparent mediation. Her work has been exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery; Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; Mercer Union, Toronto; and the Esker Foundation, Calgary. Stewart holds an MFA from Bard College, New York. She is a member of the Upper Nicola Band of the Okanagan Nation and is currently based in Vancouver, BC.

This presentation and discussion with Krista Belle Stewart is part of a series of talks featuring artists from Canada and the world. The series is offered in anticipation of Stages: Drawing the Curtain, a constellation of site-specific artworks to be launched in August 2017. This large-scale public art project asks artists to locate a site within the city of Winnipeg from which to contemplate the stage – its function as a platform; its meaning as a point of attention; and its physical design. Directed by their individual interests and material preferences, the artists will build sculptural ‘stages’ ranging in shape and form, connected as platforms for audiences to occupy, physically engage with, and contemplate. 

In keeping with the drive of Stages to bring art beyond our walls, all talks for Stages Speaker Series will be held at an off-site location: Unit 73, CityPlace Mall, 333 St Mary Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4A5.

*Artists for Stages: Drawing the Curtain include: Abbas Akhavan (Toronto), Pablo Bronstein (London, UK), FASTWÜRMS (Toronto), Toril Johannessen (Tromsø, Norway), Kara Hamilton (Toronto), Frederico Herrero (San José, Costa Rica), Divya Mehra (Winnipeg), and Krista Belle Stewart (Vancouver).

Stages Speaker Series and Stages: Drawing the Curtain are supported by the Canada Council for the Arts through its New Chapter Program.

Our community partners include Winnipeg Tourism, Alliance Française Manitoba, Urban Ink Design, CityPlace Mall (Triovest) and Fillip Publishers. Plug In ICA extends our heartfelt gratitude to our generous donors, valued members, and dedicated volunteers. You make a difference.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts New Chapter Fund, the Manitoba Arts Council and Winnipeg Arts Council. We thank the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for their support of our 2016 and 2017 program, as well as Wawanesa Insurance for the direct support of our youth programs.

Plug In ICA relies on community support to remain free and accessible to all, and enable us to continue to present excellent programs. Please consider becoming a member of Plug In ICA and a donor at https://plugin.org/supportor by contacting Angela Forget: angela@plugin.org
For more information on this and our other education programs, contact Sarah Nesbitt at sarah@plugin.org. For general information please contact: info@plugin.org or call 1.204.942.1043