DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 27, 4PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME

Summer Institute II: July 14 – August 4, 2017
The Wendy Book Club, with Walter Scott and Niki Little
For the July 2017 session of Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art’s Summer Institute, we are pleased to announce Walter Scott and Niki Little as co-faculty. Scott is an emerging artist, performer, writer and graphic novelist, well-known for his beloved graphic novels Wendy which follows the fictional narrative of a young woman living in an urban centre, whose dreams of contemporary art stardom are perpetually derailed by the temptations of punk music, drugs, alcohol, parties, and boys. Little is a Winnipeg-based curator and artist who leads from a feminist and indigenous position to create contexts where untold histories find voices and new futures can be posited. Little is known for her important work with the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC), as a founding member of the celebrated Indigenous collective, The Ephemerals, and her thoughtful curatorial and artistic projects.

Working together Little and Scott will facilitate “The Wendy Book Club” over a period of three weeks from July 14 to August 4, 2017. Taking Wendy (2014) and Wendy’s Revenge (2016) as their point of departure, they will use these texts to investigate satire as a strategy for self-reflection and cultural critique, marginalized narratives, and the subjectivities of artist, queer, non-artist, Indigenous, etc. Perceptions of the public and private world of the artist and representations of the art world will be discussed and “dispelled” through Wendy’s perspective.

While moving conceptually through the books, participants will also engage in a constellation of activities reflective of the concerns of their fictional characters. This may take the form of yoga, meditation exercises, and the exploration of esoteric practices such as tarot reading. Throughout the three weeks, “The Wendy Book Club” will take up the specific formal elements that comprise the graphic novel, expanding knowledge about comics and comic making. Scott and Little will additionally invite guest artists, and speakers with specific Indigenous-related knowledge, while also allowing ample studio time to reflect on the understandings generated as a group.

Walter Scott is an interdisciplinary artist working across writing, video, performance and sculpture. In 2011, while living in Montréal, he began the comic book series, Wendy, exploring the narrative of a fictional young woman living in an urban centre who aspires to global success and art stardom but whose dreams are perpetually derailed. Wendy has been featured in Modern Painters, Canadian Art, Mousse Magazine, and Art in America. Recent Exhibitions include the 2016 Montreal Biennale, Le Grand Balcon, Musée d’art contemporain; Big Toe, Giant Steps at Occidental Temporary, Paris; and Ambivalent Pleasures: Vancouver Special, Vancouver Art Gallery.

Niki Little | Wabiska Maengun is an artist, observer, curator, arts administrator and a founding member of The Ephemerals. She is of Cree/English descent from Garden Hill First Nation based in Winnipeg. Her interests lay in artistic and curatorial strategies that investigate cultural consumerism, Indigenous women and feminism, cultural skill-based strategies, and diaspora with a hint of ambivalence. Little is the Director for the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition and in 2016 curated three group exhibitions enendaman | anminigook, aceartinc; Lᒫ | Māmāow, Wall-to-Wall Festival; and MELT, Sputnik Architecture.

Each session of the Summer Institute invites participants who wish to work independently or collaboratively, based upon their own interests and projects and includes opportunities to work in a collaborative peer-to-peer environment through group activities, planned during the session.

Deadline for Summer Institute I and II: March 27^th, 4pm central time. Please fill out the attached application form and email it along with all supporting materials, including images or writing samples, to Sarah Nesbitt at sarah@plugin.org.

Fees: Tuition is $300. Participants are responsible for their accommodation and travel.

Plug In ICA extends our heartfelt gratitude to our generous donors, valued members and dedicated volunteers. You are making a difference.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, 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 Investors Group and 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.