Summer Institute

Louise and Rodney's morning story time, Perspectives on Land and Water,  lingered in the Summer Institute participants' minds as they visited artist Jaimie Isasc and Elder Dr. Mary Courchene at The Forks on Tuesday. Dr. Courchene shared her experiences with the land and advocated for water to be treated like a living being — with kindness and respect.  Photos by Gabriel Bell-Gam After walking back to Plug In ICA from The Forks, Daniel from the Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective provided a watershed map which showed the interconnectedness of Lake Winnipeg and surrounding bodies of water.  Photo by Sierra MacTavish The map, which took up the entirety of gallery one, only included treaty names and bodies of water — roads, cities, and borders were not pictured. SI participants were welcome to stand on and explore the map, following the natural paths of the watershed.  After a discussion about the map, participants moved to gallery two, where Jaimie Isaac spoke about her...

Yesterday marked the start of the long-awaited 2025 Summer Institute: Magic Creek!  In the morning, participants got to know each other, Rodney, and Louise over a collective discussion about art, ecology, and hidden systems.  In the afternoon, the Summer Institute headed to the rainy outdoors in search of the area that once held Colony Creek.  Phil Koch holding a map of where Colony Creek once flowed.  Summer Institute participants walking past the former Hudson's Bay Company building — an important discussion point throughout Magic Creek.  Moneca Sinclaire collecting found materials for her project.  Sierra MacTavish snapping a photo of dripping water.  Participants walking through Mostyn Place Park.  Gabriel Bell-Gam under the Osborne Street Bridge.  The search sparked discussion of colonization, materials, and art, setting the tone and mindset for the Summer Institute going forward. 

  Led by faculty Louise Witthöft and Rodney LaTourelle August 11 - 21, 2025 BetonWaves (after Egon Wrobel) , 2022, image courtesy of the artists. This year’s iteration of the Summer Institute will begin with a collective “Story Time” each day – a shared reading that grounds us in terms of visibility, care, interconnection, and resistance. These sessions set the tone for the day, offering poetic, political, and philosophical entry points into the week's activities. Throughout the program, we will be joined by invited special guests that expand on our discussions through creative work and physical experience. Participants will further have the unique opportunity to work in creative ways with salvaged materials, such as old concrete, bricks, and glass from the former Hudson's Bay Company building, which is situated across the street from the gallery and currently undergoing renovation by the Southern Chiefs' Organization. Further, in collaboration with the workshop at the Cent...