Rescheduled- Stages Speaker Series: Artist Talk with Divya Mehra

Former Globe Cinema, 3rd floor, Portage Place Shopping Centre, 393 Portage Ave, Winnipeg

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Divya Mehra’s talk scheduled on Thursday, April 27th has been cancelled. We have rescheduled the talk for Wednesday, May 3rd at 7pm. We apologize for any inconvenience.

In continuation of our Stages Speaker Series, on Wednesday, May 3rd at 7pm, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art presents a performative talk by Winnipeg-based artist Divya Mehra at the Globe Cinema. She will present a series of short stories in lieu of speaking directly to her artwork.

Mehra’s work is an astute example of how art can destabilize our collective and individual perceptions about race and gender. She does this through pop cultural lines, manipulating common signs into pointed and at times barbed commentary that references the caution and insincerity of a forced political correctness. Mehra’s work carries a relevance that aims to be transformative, advancing a conversation surrounding identity. How our behaviors and responses contribute to a status quo that gives voice to diversity but remains steadfast in old hierarchies.

Working in sculpture, print, drawing, artist books, installation, advertising, and most recently film, Mehra is known for her meticulous­ attention to the interaction of form, medium and site that together produces an acerbic body of work, addressing the long-term effects of colonization and institutional racism. Re-contextualizing references found in hip-hop, literature, and current affairs, she contends with contemporary expressions of societies (India, America, Canada) continuously formed by their colonial roots.

Mehra’s solo exhibitions include It’s Gonna Rain, The New Gallery, Calgary; Pouring Water on a Drowning Man, Georgia Scherman Projects, Toronto; You have to tell Them, i’m not a Racist, La Maison Des Artistes, Winnipeg; The Party is Over, Artspeak, Vancouver; and Turf War, Platform: center for photographic + digital arts, Winnipeg. Mehra’s work has been presented as part of exhibitions and commissions with MoMA PS1, Creative Time, and the Queens Museum of Art, New York; MASS MoCA, North Adams; Latitude 28, Delhi; and The Beijing 798 Biennale. Mehra holds an MFA from Columbia University and is represented in Toronto by Georgia Scherman Projects. She is currently based in Winnipeg. Divya Mehra (b. 1981) year of the Rooster.

This performative artist talk with Divya Mehra is part of Stages Speaker Series, featuring artists from Canada and the world. The series is offered in anticipation of Stages: Drawing the Curtain, a constellation of public 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. This presentation will be held at the former Globe Cinema, 3^rd floor, Portage Place Shopping Centre, 393 Portage Ave, Winnipeg.

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

**Previous talks from Stages Speaker Series are now online at https://plugin.org/videos

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), Portage Place Shopping Centre, Alt Hotel, Alpha Masonry Ltd and Fillip Publishers.

Plug In ICA extends our heartfelt gratitude to our generous donors, valued members, and dedicated volunteers. We acknowledge the sustaining support of our Director’s Circle. You all make a difference.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council, 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/support or 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