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‘House on Fire’ | Sarah Anne Johnson | Opening June 4, 2026, 7PM

2026

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Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art

Unit 1, 460 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
R3C 0E8

info@plugin.org

1.204.942.1043

Wheelchair accessible. Please contact us if you have any accessibility needs or requests.

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.

PLUG IN ICA ON INSTAGRAM

📣 Plug In ICA is delighted to announce Live Cha

📣 Plug In ICA is delighted to announce Live Chat, a conversation with Sarah Anne Johnson, David Moos, Meeka Walsh, moderated by Robert Enright.

Join us on June 5 from 5 - 7PM at the University of Winnipeg Manitoba Hall Boardroom, room 2M70 located at 515 Portage Ave. for a conversation about the work of Sarah Anne Johnson and her exhibition, 'House on Fire'. 🏚️

Sarah Anne Johnson is a Winnipeg-born multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, painting, sculpture, video, and performance. She holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Sarah is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and her work is held in several major permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum. Sarah is best known for her photo-based practice in which she physically and digitally alters large-format prints with oil paint, gold leaf, stickers, and other materials.

David Moos is the president and founder of David Moos Art Advisory, a bespoke firm placing museum-calibre works in private and public collections in Canada and the United States. Prior to founding DMAA in 2011, Moos was the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2004–2011) and the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama (1998–2004). While at the AGO, Moos acquired Sarah Ann Johnson’s “House on Fire” for the permanent collection, through the generous support of Michael Nesbitt. Moos received a BA from McGill University, Montreal, and a PhD in Art History from Columbia University, New York. In 2020 he co-founded Museum Exchange, the first digital platform for art donations, allowing museums to access works of art being offered by collectors outside their established donor base.

Check out Meeka Walsh and Robert Enright's bios below ⬇️

Click the 🔗 link in our bio to learn more about this event & the exhibition!

Currently in our bookstore: Open Fragments: The Th

Currently in our bookstore: Open Fragments: The Theatre of Adhere and Deny 1997-2010
 “With its roots reaching back to Shared Stage in 1981, Adhere and Deny has been exploring the world of puppets and objects as theatrical main-players since 1987, with its current incarnation existence since 1998. Both in form and philosophy, Adhere and Deny has always been about singular artistic experience, not toeing the theatrical party line. This is a book about vision - artistic vision in its most dizzying mystical, mystifying and sometimes hilarious form.”
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Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio
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#OpenFragments
#GrantGuy #pluginicabookstore

📢 Plug In ICA would like to remind you of our u

📢 Plug In ICA would like to remind you of our upcoming exhibition, 'House on Fire' featuring Sarah Anne Johnson. We invite you to join us for the opening reception in our galleries on June 4, at 7PM.

'House on Fire', is the title of a long series of works produced by artist Sarah Anne Johnson. Coming from a deeply personal narrative, 'House on Fire' is the artist’s belated response to a family trauma unearthed and fragmented, but one that she has ultimately reassembled. Johnson’s grandmother, Velma Orlikow, was a victim of psychiatric experiments performed at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal.

The installation, which centres on a dollhouse of secrets, also includes altered family photos, archival newspaper clippings, and small bronze figures of distress. Over time, the project grew from the original installation to include performances created for video.

This iteration of 'House on Fire' is currently presented as a reconsideration of the original installation and an introduction to new works by this remarkable artist.

Sarah Anne Johnson is a Winnipeg-born multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, painting, sculpture, video, and performance. She holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Sarah is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and her work is held in several major permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum. Sarah is best known for her photo-based practice in which she physically and digitally alters large-format prints with oil paint, gold leaf, stickers, and other materials.

Plug In ICA would like to thank Michael Nesbitt for making this exhibition possible.

We would like to extend our thanks to the Yossi Milo Gallery for their support on this exhibition.

📸 : 'House on Fire', Laundry Room, 2009, image credit Sarah Anne Johnson

#pluginica #sarahannejohnson #houseonfire

📣Today is your last chance to view 'Transcenden

📣Today is your last chance to view 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence. Visit the exhibition this afternoon from 12 - 6PM!

'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis.

Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression.

April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.

📸 : ‘Lexicon for Loss’, Sheila Spence, installation view at Plug In ICA, 2026. Photo courtesy of Karen Asher.

#pluginica #sheilaspence #aprilhickox #transcendence

Currently in our bookstore: SCRAPBOOK: From the Ar

Currently in our bookstore: SCRAPBOOK: From the Archives of Dave Barber

“Co-edited by Andrew Burke and Clint Enns. 

A tribute to the late Cinematheque Senior Film Programmer, Dave Barber, the book transforms decades of press clippings, program notes, posters, and personal artifacts into a cohesive and deeply personal portrait, celebrating Barber’s enduring influence on Canadian film culture.

Andrew Burke is a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Winnipeg. He is the author of Hinterland Remixed: Media, Memory, and the Canadian 1970s published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Clint Enns is a visual artist, writer, and curator living in Tiohtià:ke / Montréal. He has PhD in cinema and media studies from York University and has edited several collections including Mike Hoolboom: Work, Imprints: The Films of Louise Bourque, and John Porter’s CineScenes: Documentary Portraits of Film Scenes, Toronto and Beyond, 1978 – 2015."
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Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio
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#SCRAPBOOKFromtheArchivesofDaveBarber
#WinnipegFilmGroup
#pluginicabookstore

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is excited t

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art is excited to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director/Curator, Nadja Pelkey. After a careful and considered search that attracted national and international candidates, Pelkey was selected by the search committee for her collaborative, critical, relationship-centered, and research-driven approach to curatorial, strategic, and community-based work.

Nadja Pelkey is an Artist and Curator based in Waawiyatanong (Windsor, ON across the river from Detroit, MI). She holds an MFA from the University of Guelph, and brings over 15 years of experience in the arts including academic and leadership positions. Recently, Pelkey worked in curatorial, programming, and community-engaged roles at Art Windsor-Essex, collaborating across departments to lead digital strategy, cross‑sector collaborations, public art initiatives, research, and digital projects like the forthcoming 'Iain Baxter&: What’s the Big Idea?.'

Nadja will be joining the team this June. She looks forward to meeting the Manitoba artistic community at the opening of Sarah Anne Johnson's exhibition, 'House on Fire' opening June 4 at 7PM.

"My vision for Plug In ICA is grounded in respect for the institution’s more than fifty‑year history as a pivotal space for contemporary practice. Plug In has consistently championed experimentation, exchange, critical inquiry, and the vital role of artists in our cultural landscape. Through the last five decades, Plug In has remained committed to research-driven exhibitions, rigorous interpretation, and public engagement across local, national, and international contexts. It is an honour to join Plug In at this marker in its institutional history, and to celebrate that history with the forthcoming anniversary publication, Plug In 50/10."

Read more about Nadja's vision for Plug In ICA on our website 🔗 linked in our bio

There's just 1 week left to experience 'Transcende

There's just 1 week left to experience 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence. Plan your visit today! 🥀

'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis.

Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression.

April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.

📸 : ‘Observance’, April Hickox, installation view at Plug In ICA, 2026. Photo courtesy of Karen Asher.

#pluginica #sheilaspence #aprilhickox #transcendence

Currently in our bookstore: Border Crossings Issue

Currently in our bookstore: Border Crossings Issue 170: C a n a d a

“Issue #170 of Border Crossings explores contemporary Canadian art, examining social themes, materiality, and notable practises. Feature interviews in this issue include artists Abbas Akhavan, Brenda Draney, and Nadia Myre. Works by Carrie Allison, Donigan Cumming, Sylvia Matas, Annie MacDonell, An Te Liu, Shannon Bool, Bea Parsons, and M.E. Sparks are covered. Plus pages from the Border Crossings' archive."
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Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio
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#BorderCrossingsIssue170
#Canada
#pluginicabookstore

Have you visited our current exhibition yet? 💐

Have you visited our current exhibition yet? 💐 Stop by today from 12 - 6PM to view 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence.

'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis.

Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression.

April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.

📸 : ‘Lexicon for Loss’, Sheila Spence, installation view at Plug In ICA, 2026. Photo courtesy of Karen Asher.

#pluginica #sheilaspence #aprilhickox #transcendence

Currently in our bookstore: Lori Blondeau: I'm Not

Currently in our bookstore: Lori Blondeau: I'm Not Your Kinda Princess

"After years of planning, in the spring of 2021, we mounted a solo exhibition by renowned Winnipeg-based artist Lori Blondeau. Coinciding with the artist’s honour by the Governor’s General Award, the exhibition reflected on a selected range of Blondeau’s thirty-plus-year practice, paired together with a newly commissioned sculptural and auditory installation.

The entire exhibition encompassed both of our galleries and opened to an especially uncertain time in the world, when, owing to a global pandemic, many public gatherings were restricted or completely prohibited. Several cultural institutions took required precautions regarding their services to the wider public, halting and limiting the rollout of programming or finding alternative ways to offer programs to audiences. Plug In ICA was no different in this respect, and as a result, this exhibition was extended and on view for five consecutive months, allowing necessary time for as many visitors as possible. Traces of this period even influenced aspects of the exhibition's commissioned work..."

Book design by Taylor Jolin, an Ojibwe artist and graphic designer based in Bawaating.
Hardcover, 208 pages

Please join us on May 14 from 5 - 7PM at Plug In ICA to celebrate the launch of our newest publication, 'Lori Blondeau: I’m Not Your Kinda Princess' ✨

📸: Images courtesy of Daisy Wu
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Find this book in our bookstore through the link in our bio
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#ImNotYourKindaPrincess
#LoriBlondeau
#pluginicabookstore

Our current exhibition 'Transcendence' featuring A

Our current exhibition 'Transcendence' featuring April Hickox & Sheila Spence is on view until 6PM tonight✨️

'Transcendence' draws inspiration from the history of floral paintings, exploring the impermanence of life, the passage of time and reflecting on the collective new cycle of awareness brought on by the pandemic and the AIDs crisis.

Sheila Spence is a lens-based artist and activist. Over the years, her work has explored longing and belonging. For Spence, art has been a tool for self-exploration, enabling her to assess and process her personal values. Spence’s work is rooted in the belief that artistic practice can serve as a means for personal assessment and understanding. By engaging with her art, she can examine the core elements of her identity and the values that guide her life. Over the years, Spence has addressed a diverse range of topics in her work. These include queer politics, feminism, communities and connection, a sense of place, loss, and love. Each of these subjects is approached with honesty and authenticity, reflecting her commitment to genuine self-expression.

April Hickox was a Canadian lens-based artist, teacher and independent curator who lived on the Toronto Islands. Over the course of 37 years, April mined the distinctions between personal and public sites through film, video, photography and installation. Her work with objects and the still-life are rooted in narrative histories that individuals accumulate through-out their lives and the ability of inanimate objects to shape memory. Hickox was the Founding Director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio, and Artscape Toronto. For the past seven years she was a member of the curatorial board of Art With Heart, Casey House. Most recently, April was an Associate Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.

Plug In ICA is elated to announce our upcoming exh

Plug In ICA is elated to announce our upcoming exhibition, 'House on Fire' featuring Sarah Anne Johnson. We invite you to join us for the opening reception in our galleries on June 4, at 7PM.

'House on Fire', is the title of a long series of works produced by artist Sarah Anne Johnson. Coming from a deeply personal narrative, 'House on Fire' is the artist’s belated response to a family trauma unearthed and fragmented, but one that she has ultimately reassembled. Johnson’s grandmother, Velma Orlikow, was a victim of psychiatric experiments performed at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal.

The installation, which centres on a dollhouse of secrets, also includes altered family photos, archival newspaper clippings, and small bronze figures of distress. Over time, the project grew from the original installation to include performances created for video.

This iteration of 'House on Fire' is currently presented as a reconsideration of the original installation and an introduction to new works by this remarkable artist.

Sarah Anne Johnson is a Winnipeg-born multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, painting, sculpture, video, and performance. She holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Sarah is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and her work is held in several major permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum. Sarah is best known for her photo-based practice in which she physically and digitally alters large-format prints with oil paint, gold leaf, stickers, and other materials.

Plug In ICA would like to thank Michael Nesbitt for making this exhibition possible.

📸 : Sarah Anne Johnson, 'House on Fire', 2008, mixed media, image courtesy of the artist

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Hours

Plug In ICA Gallery and Art Book Shop
*please note that we are closed between exhibitions

Sundays & Mondays: Closed
 Tuesdays & Wednesdays: Noon to 6 pm
 Thursdays: Noon to 8 pm
 Fridays: Noon to 6 pm
 Saturdays: Noon to 5 pm

Closed
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Louis Riel Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day

Office
 Monday to Friday: 10 am to 5 pm

Library and Research Centre
 Open during gallery hours.
Please call for appointment between exhibitions: (204) 942-1043

Paid parking available on-site and nearby.
Free admission.