Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art presents:
Curatorial Walkthrough
The Performance of Being a retrospective by Leesa Streifler
November 27, 2025 | 7PM
Plug In ICA is delighted to announce a curatorial walkthrough, in conjuction with our current exhibition, The Performance of Being, a Leesa Streifler retrospective.
Please join us in our galleries on November 27 at 7PM for a tour with curator Wayne Baerwaldt and exhibiting artist Leesa Streifler.
The exhibition explores Streifler’s sustained interest in the representation, performance and politics of “Othered,” marginalized and non-conforming bodies. Drawing on her own lived experience and informed by feminist theory, her powerful, emotionally-charged, and expressive works present figures that defy social conventions, behavioural ‘norms’ and traditional gender roles to engage in critical discourse on body-image, sexuality, agency, performativity, relationships, motherhood, illness and aging. Drawn from public and private collections nationwide, this survey brings together over one hundred works in drawing, painting, mixed media, photography and installation, exemplifying the significant contributions of Streifler’s critically-acclaimed practice towards feminist art in Canada.
This exhibition is curated by Wayne Baerwaldt & Jennifer McRorie. It is organized by the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery in partnership with the Nickle Galleries (Calgary, AB), Art Gallery of Swift Current (Swift Current, SK), Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba (Brandon, MB) and Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art (Winnipeg, MB).
Funding for this exhibition is provided by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage Museum Assistance Program, the City of Moose Jaw, SK Arts, Government of Saskatchewan, SaskCulture, Saskatchewan Lotteries and Canada Council for the Arts. Support for the exhibition is provided by the National Gallery of Canada.
Leesa Streifler received a BFA honours from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from Hunter College in New York. She taught in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Regina for over 30 years influencing generations of art students. She has exhibited widely in Canada and internationally and has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards from SK Arts, Manitoba Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. Her work is included in major public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Canada Council Art Bank, SK Arts, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Dunlop Art Gallery and Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery. Streifler is passionate about feminism and art education, actively mentoring other artists through MAWA (Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art) in Winnipeg, MB.
Wayne Baerwaldt is a visual arts curator based in Western Canada. His best-known curatorial projects trace performative elements in artmaking with an emphasis on unstable, disputed identities in diverse spaces. Recent projects include Leesa Streifler: She is Present, Richard Boulet: Art Thou the Accuser of Thy Brethren, or Art Thou the Inspiration of Their Heart?, Marie Lannoo: In Extremis and Ydessa Hendeles: Grand Hotel.
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