Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is pleased to present an artist talk Saturday June 6 at 3 pm, as part of the exhibition Pandora’s Box. The talk will feature acclaimed artists Shary Boyle and Leesa Streifler, as well as the exhibition curator Amanda Cachia. The opening reception for the exhibition is on Friday, June 5 at 8 pm.

Shary Boyle is a Toronto artist and former resident of Winnipeg whose practice includes drawing, painting, sculpture and live “projected light” performance. She received a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1994. Foreign residence and travel is central to her creative methodology, and her images map an intensely personal location within international transience. Boyle is shortlisted for the 2009 Sobey Art Award.

Leesa Streifler is a Winnipeg-born artist. She received a BFA Honours from the University of Manitoba, and an MFA from Hunter College in New York. She currently lives and works in Regina. Streifler is known for her work on body image and feminine identity. Two recent series, Deflations (2005) and Her Domain (2006) were included in a group exhibition at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto in 2006.

Amanda Cachia was born in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. She received her BA/BCA from the University of Wollongong, and an MA in Curatorial Studies from Goldsmiths College, University of London. In 2004 she immigrated to New York City from Australia. Cachia became Curator at Dunlop Art Gallery in June 2007, and Director in 2008. Her curatorial practice revolves around themes of social justice.

Pandora’s Box offers a new twist on the myth of Pandora. It is no longer about what is hidden inside of the box, never to be revealed, but what is metaphorically reflected in it of the outside. Ten international female artists are represented in this exhibition: Laylah Ali, Ghada Amer, Shary Boyle, Amy Cutler, Chitra Ganesh, Wangechi Mutu, Annie Pootoogook, Leesa Streifler, Kara Walker and Su-en Wong.

Inside Pandora’s Box viewers will encounter a phantasmagoria of myths, folktales, stereotypes and ambiguity. The artists challenge, appropriate and critique these androcentric myths and fairytales so as to make them a more accurate mirror of female experience in new socio-historical contexts.

The talks and reception are free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome!