We’re learning more about the artists and their work that will be on display during Ice Follies next month.
The 11th edition of the biennial festival runs Feb. 7-21 at Shabogesic Beach on Lake Nipissing, Downtown North Bay and Olmstead Beach on Trout Lake (Feb 15-16).
Organizers say this year’s festival explores the theme Ozhaashikwaa (The Ice is Slippery) with several local and regional artists.
They say works range from large-scale installations to immersive performances, engaging with Northern landscapes and cultural narratives.
Featured artists by location:
Shabogesic Beach (Lake Nipissing): Outdoor Installations & Performances on the Ice
- Aanmitaagzi: All My R(el)ations – A powerful opening night performance (Feb 7) and activation of their installations, exploring our connections to water, ancestors, and community.
- Andrew Ackerman: Fire and Flood – A striking blackened house-like sculpture, illuminated from within, reflecting on humanity’s fragile relationship with nature.
- David Chops: A Spectrum of Interconnected Cooperation – A participatory installation with illuminated trees and reflective cubes, inviting contributions by visitors.
- Anyse Ducharme: The Water Was a Sheet of Glass – A site-specific installation featuring AI-generated voices reciting hashtags, highlighting the tension between digital and lived experiences.
- Nico Glaude: Sign Language – Monoliths adorned with hand-painted signs, reflecting themes of resilience, personal growth, and memory.
- Studio Nude Beach: Beastie Bones – A glowing ribcage-like installation blending folklore and dynamic decay, symbolizing nature’s ephemeral beauty.
Downtown North Bay: Photographic Reflections on Ice Follies’ Legacy
- Liz Lott: Frozen Frames – An Ice Follies Retrospective – A photographic exhibition at WKP Kennedy Gallery, showcasing one image from every participating artist since 2004, celebrating two decades of creativity.
Olmstead Beach (Trout Lake): Sound & Light Interventions – Feb 15-16 (7 pm & 9 pm)
- Hyperboreal (Dermot Wilson & Jason Brock): Ice Shifts/Elevations – A mesmerizing audio-visual performance of synchronized electronic music and video projections on the misty icy lake.
- New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) with Lina Choi, Stephanie Dupuis, Genevieve Kiessling, Shaughn Martel and Kyle Vanderlaan: Ice Sounds – Compositions of ice-recorded soundscapes from Lake Nipissing and Trout Lake, combined with texts.
The festival is free to attend and open 24/7.
