On Wednesday, September 20, from 7-10pm, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art presented a short screening and panel with the participants of our third session of Interpreting [Interrupting] Youth program (IIY). For this screening IIY participants Briand Assogbague, Jand Avila, Tuva Bergstrom, Renier Dumadag, Niko Lapierre, Bernal Delos Santos, Joel Jae Serrano, as well as our youth mentor, Gideon Kitsa presented a short interpretive video produced by them in collaboration with Plug In ICA, Just TV and the Broadway Neighbourhood Center. The resulting video is a visual reflection of the youth’s collective and individual experience of the offsite public art exhibition STAGES: Drawing the Curtain featuring nine artists from England, Scotland, Norway, Costa Rica and across Canada, including: Abbas Akhavan (Toronto), Pablo Bronstein (London, UK, Erica Eyres (Glasgow), Toril Johannessen (Tromsø, Norway), Kara Hamilton (Toronto), Federico Herrero (San José, Costa Rica), Divya Mehra (Winnipeg), Krista Belle Stewart (Vancouver), Ron Tran (Vancouver). For this iteration, participants had the opportunity to experience the works in-situ, attend performances, and speak directly with several of the artists about their process and intentions.

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.

The next session is January 2018, looking at Skeena Reece’s solo exhibition Sweetgrass and Honey. To apply to the IIY program, or 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.

This program is sponsored in part by Payworks and Wawanesa Insurance. We thank 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