With great enthusiasm Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is honoured to host the inimitable writer, critic and publisher Chris Kraus as principal faculty for Session I of our 2017 Summer Institute research program (June 13-29). For the inaugural public program, on Friday, June 16, Kraus has invited two Los Angeles-based writers Natasha Stagg and Robert Dewhurst to give readings of their recent writing.

For this presentation Stagg will orate a passage from her inaugural novel, Surveys. Published in 2016 by Semiotext(e), Surveys is a wry first-person account of twenty-three-year-old Colleen’s sudden rise to fame in the era of social media set in the context of urban Los Angeles.

Following Stagg, Dewhurst will present a selection of his unpublished, and currently untitled critical biography of John Wieners (1934–2002), poète maudit of the Black Mountain and Beat generation.

Natasha Stagg was the editor for V Magazine and has most notably publishedSurveys a novel with Semiotext(e) in March of 2016. She has written for Texte Zur Kunst, Dis Magazine and Kaleidoscope. She received her MFA from the University of Arizona.

Robert Dewhurst is currently based in Los Angles, having received his PhD from SUNY Buffalo in English. He is a poet and the publisher of the chapbook imprint Scary Topiary Press and was the publisher of Wild Orchids Journal.

All public programming is free and open to the public. Everyone welcome!

The Summer Institute is an international post-graduate research program for professional artists working in all disciplines and media. In 2017 Plug In ICA hosts two sessions of the Institute, both emphasizing writing as an expanded field incorporating elements of critical confession, reflection and artistry. For the first session, June 13-June 29, 2017, participants will work with renowned writer, artist and editor, Chris Kraus with guests Natasha Stagg and Robert Dewhurst.

Each session invites participants who wish to work independently or collaboratively based on their own interests and projects and includes opportunities to work in a peer-to-peer environment through group activities planned during the session. A number of guest artists, curators and theorists will visit the Summer Institute for lectures and studio visits.

The participants in the Summer Institute, Session I include:

Kristina Banera • Fabiola Carranza • Maegan Hill-Carroll • Daniel Colussi • Roewan Crowe • Erica Eryes • Esmé Hogeveen • Letch Kinloch• Soyoung Kwon • Chloë Lum • Kegan McFadden • Ralph Pritchard • Jasmine Reimer • Jacquelyn Ross •  Faith Wilson.

For More information on Chris Kraus and the Summer Institute, Session I, see: Summer Institute I: Chris Kraus

Plug In ICA extends our gratitude to our generous donors, valued members and dedicated volunteers. With special thanks to our Director’s Circle.

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 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

For media inquiries please contact: Sarah Nesbitt at sarah@plugin.org or by phone at (204) 942-1043. For general information please contact: info@plugin.org