Please join Plug In ICA for a curator’s talk by Denise Markonish on Sunday, November 4th at 3:30pm. MASS MoCA curator Denise Markonish will talk about this unique museum in western Massachusetts made up of 150,000 square feet of exhibition space. Markonish will provide an introduction to the space and some of its past exhibitions and talk at length about her Oh, Canada project. This show was the result of five years of travel and research across Canada (and over 400 studio visits), and showcases the work of 62 artists and collectives from all across the country.

Markonish’s talk is presented in the context of Plug In ICA’s  My Winnipeg Project, as an opportunity to discuss broader issues around exhibitions exploring geography and identity. This presentation is free and everyone is welcome to attend. Seating is limited.

Markonish’s extensive research brings this project the fresh perspective of an informed and curious outsider. While Oh, Canada will ask questions such as “What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of art made in the country?” its aim is not to present a merely nationalistic show. Rather, the goal is to encourage a dialogue about contemporary art made in Canada (one touching on issues of craft/making, conceptualism, humor and identity), a dialogue that will resonate just as deeply for Canadians as for outsiders.

Denise Markonish is the curator at MASS MoCA where her exhibitions include: Sanford Biggers: The Cartographer’s Conundrum, Michael Oatman: all utopias fell; Stephen Vitiello: All Those Vanished Engines, Nari Ward: Sub Mirage Lignum (catalogue); Petah Coyne: Everything That Rises Must Converge (catalogue: Yale University Press), Inigo Manglano- Ovalle: Gravity is a force to be reckoned with (catalogue: D.A.P); These Days: Elegies for Modern Times and Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape (catalogue: MIT Press. Markonish also co-edited with Susan Cross the book Sol LeWitt: 100 Views (Yale University Press). Previous to her work at MASSMoCA, Markonish was the curator at Artspace in New Haven, CT where she curated Factory Direct: New Haven, Don’t Know Much About History, Why Look at Animals?, Zip, Boys Life, which traveled to Space Gallery in Portland, ME and Territorieswhich traveled to the Galerie fur Landschaftskunst in Hamburg, Germany. Markonish has also curated Mark Dion: New England Digs at the Fuller Museum, Brockton, MA; Past Presence: Contemporary Reflections on the Main Line at the MainLine Art Center, Haverford, PA and The 19th Annual Drawing Show at the Boston Center for the Arts.Markonish recently opened the exhibition Oh, Canada the largest survey of contemporary Canadian art ever organized outside of Canada. To accompany the MASS MoCA exhibition, Markonish edited a 400-page catalogue co-published with The MIT Press.

Denise’s lecture and visit to Alberta and Manitoba is organized by the Illingworth Kerr Gallery/ACAD in partnership with DC3, Edmonton, the University of Lethbridge and Plug In ICA, Winnipeg.

Plug In ICA Lecture Series supporter: BMO Financial Group.