Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is thrilled to present:

The Lizard People: How UFOs, Magic, and Mind-Control Explain Visual Culture in the Age of AI

A Talk with Trevor Paglen co-presented with The University of Manitoba

January 15, 2026 | 7PM

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is excited to host a special talk with Trevor Paglen co-presented with The University of Manitoba on January 15, 2026 at 7PM. We invite you to join us for a reception following the lecture.

Something strange has happened to the world of images. In the era of algorithmic feeds, generative excess, and the attention economy, images have ceased to represent. Instead, they activate. Images have become synthetic stimuli, engineered to provoke targeted perceptual, emotional, and behavioral responses in both humans and machines. They’ve become highly refined mind-altering substances. This lecture traces a genealogy of this shift, linking Cold War mind-control experiments and military Psyops with stage magic, UFO mythologies, and contemporary neuro-AI research to expose the deep mechanisms shaping today’s visual culture.

This talk would not be made possible without the generous support of the University of Manitoba’s Strategic Initiatives Support Fund (SISF), UM Faculty of Arts, UM School of Art, UM Faculty of Architecture, and Plug In ICA.

Location: Plug In ICA, 1-460 Portage Ave.

Time: 7 PM

Trevor Paglen’s work occupies a singular place at the intersection of contemporary art, technology, surveillance and critical inquiry. Paglen has launched an artwork into distant orbit around Earth in collaboration with Creative Time and MIT, contributed research and cinematography to the Academy Award-winning film Citizenfour, and created a radioactive public sculpture for the exclusion zone in Fukushima, Japan.

His exhibitions at major institutions worldwide, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Tate Modern and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have cemented him as one of the most important artists working today on questions of AI, vision and power.

Acknowledgments

We are on Treaty 1 Territory. Plug In ICA is located on the territories of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and the National homeland of the Red River Métis. Our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. 

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 could not operate without their continued financial investment and lobbying efforts.

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 Gilles Hébert, Interim Executive Director at executivedirector@plugin.org.

For more information on public programming and exhibitions contact info@plugin.org.

For general information, please contact: info@plugin.org or call 1.204.942.1043