Supplement 7: Uncle Doug’s Fishing Shack traces Joar Nango’s artistic process, mapping the development of his temporary installation and sculpture Uncle Doug’s Fishing Shack, 2019. The publication features an interview between Nango and Indigenous architect David Thomas about an abandoned military barracks’ transformation into Canada’s largest urban reserve. It also includes a short essay by Indigenous architect Ryan Gorrie in which he examines Circle of Life Thunderbird House in Winnipeg, designed by renowned Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal. These texts are paired with critical writings by architecture lecturer Timothy O’Rourke and architecture scholar Courtney R. Thompson, who detail accounts of governmental suppression of Indigenous architectural and artistic ingenuity in both Australia and Canada. These writings are interwoven by text by Jenifer Papararo, curator of Uncle Doug’s Fishing Shack, reflecting on Nango’s research process and the conversations that ignited, developed, and epitomized the nature of this collaborative and improvisational site-specific installation. We launch this publication as part of Girjegumpi, Nango’s ongoing library project for which he has been assembling an archive of books related to Indigenous architectures for over fifteen years. AGYU, Fillip and Plug In are pleased to contribute to the contents of Girjegumpi. To animate the installation as part of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale in the Nordic Countries Pavilion, they present a conversation between Nango and Thomas discussing Indigenous
architectures within a global context.

The publication is part of the Supplements series published by Fillip (Vancouver), with this edition published in collaboration with Plug In ICA (Winnipeg) and the Art Gallery of York University (Toronto). Supplement 7 is edited by Jenifer Papararo.

Joar Nango is a process-based artist working within the provisional nature of sculpture, performance, and architecture. He is an artist, architect, builder, publisher, and host. He lives and works in Tromsø, Norway. Nango is Sámi, belonging to the Indigenous peoples from Sápmi, the traditional Sámi territory. He has exhibited widely, recently presenting a large-scale solo exhibition at Bergen Kunsthall, Norway. He has participated in exhibitions at the National Gallery of Canada, Tensta Konsthall, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens. Girjegumpi, the Sámi Architecture Library, is his contribution to the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

David Thomas is Anishinaabe, a member of Peguis First Nation, and has been in the architecture profession for over twenty years. He leads the Treaty One Development Corporation, which is transforming the Kapyong Military Barracks in Winnipeg into Naawi-Oodena, the largest urban reserve in Canada. He developed the Indigenous Peoples Garden at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park, part of Canada’s Diversity Garden. Along with Indigenous architecture projects and installations in Toronto and Vancouver, Thomas has presented his work in New Zealand and the UK. He was also on the team of UNCEDED: Voices of the Land, Canada’s entry of Indigenous architects for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Thomas’s
practice, process, and research focus on identity and lived experiences as an Indigenous person.

For press inquiries: Michael Maranda, Assistant Curator, Publishing: mmarand@yorku.ca

The Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) is a socially minded non-profit contemporary art gallery supported by York University, and funded as a public gallery by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and by our membership. AGYU is located on Treaty 13 held by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Fillip is a Vancouver-based publishing organization that was formed in 2004 to expand spaces for critical discussions on contemporary art, and is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Fillip is on the unceded Musqueam, Squamish), and Tsleil-Waututh Territories.

Established in 1972, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is Canada’s oldest ICA with a holistic mandate to support all aspects of art-making by presenting, producing and circulating contemporary art through research, exhibitions, publications, education, outreach and advocacy. Plug In is supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, and Winnipeg Arts Council, and is located on Treaty 1 Territory.

STAGES 2023

Plug In ICA’s fourth installment of its biennial offsite public exhibition series, STAGES, will launch between August and September 2023, running six projects throughout the city by six selected artists from across the country. The artists gathered for this iteration of STAGES represent an array of idiosyncratic practices with a nuanced attunement to the world today and its ever-refracting complexities. They work within, and around modalities that are steeped in social, theoretical, and aesthetic practices in equal measure. Their respective artistic disciplines are invariably multiple and generous in what they impart. We are excited to share their work and the intricate conversations they hold. The following are the artists for STAGES 2023:

Hangama Amiri, Kabul, Nova Scotia, Ontario, & New York
Ekene Emeke-Maduka, Manitoba
Marisa Gallemit, Ontario
Kosisochukwu Nnebe, Quebec
Lou Sheppard, New Brunswick
Paul Zacharias, Manitoba

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 the artists we work with, 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 Caitlin Thomas-Dunn at caitlin@plugin.org.

For more information on public programming and exhibitions contact Luther Konadu at luther@plugin.org.

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