On Saturday, February 17, 2018 we invited visitors to discover our exhibition, Skeena Reece: Sweetgrass and Honey through the interpretive lens of five youth.

Starting at 2pm, participants of the fourth edition of our Interpreting [Interrupting] Youth [IIY] program, Elia Ruiz-Fuertes-Holt, Andriy Kramar, Omid Moterassed, Crista Ordonez and Youth Mentor, Niko Lapierre offered our first ever guided youth tour, before presenting a short interpretive video produced by them in collaboration with Plug In ICA, Just TV and the Broadway Neighborhood Center.

The screening offered a visual reflection of the youth’s collective and individual experience of Sweetgrass and Honey, and marked the culmination of an intensive four weeks of meeting, working, and thinking together about the exhibition; and about video as an interpretive mode. For this iteration of the program, participants had the opportunity to see the work as it was being installed, and speak directly with Reece about her process, and intentions.

The youth tour began at 2pm, followed a short reception. The screening and panel discussion with IIY participants was moderated by Assistant Curator Sarah Nesbitt, and began at 3pm.

This video is available in our online video archive:
Interpreting Skeena Reece Sweetgrass and Honey – Part 1
Interpreting Skeena Reece Sweetgrass and Honey – Part 2-3

Interpreting [Interrupting] Youth is designed for youth ages 16 to 24. The program reverses a pre-existing interpretive model used within arts institutions that often produce short videos as educational devices. These often include interviews with artists or curators, images of artworks and installation shots; they often reference artists’ biographies, previous artworks, and at times, glimpse into artists’ studios. These videos are usually presented online or within the gallery or museum in close proximity to the artworks, and tend to place an emphasis on the artist’s and institution’s intention over the experience of the viewer.

The “Interpreting [Interrupting] Youth” program inversely begins with the youth’s experience of the artwork, challenging conventional models of art interpretation by overturning basic roles of authority and authorship.

For more information about this and other education programs, please contact Sarah Nesbitt at sarah@plugin.org. For general information please contact: info@plugin.org or call 1.204.942.1043.

We give special thanks to Just TV for their dedicated and expert partnership.

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

We gratefully acknowledge 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 Payworks 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