Ice Follies
Lake Nipissing sits at the heart of our communities and becomes an accessible site for a short period of time in winter. A canvas as tranquil as it is volatile, the works are placed in direct harmony with light, water, wind, ice and snow.
In 2004, the W.K.P. Kennedy public art gallery Director Dermot Wilson coordinated the first Ice Follies exhibition featuring the work of Canadian and local contemporary artists. Following the inaugural exhibition, artist Kim Adam’s piece Minnow Lure, was acquired by the National Gallery’s permanent collection. The show’s success prompted an arrangement to present the exhibition in a biennial cycle.
In 2012, the event changed hands from the public gallery to a collective with representation from local artist-run centres including White Water Gallery, Aanmitaagzi and the Near North Mobile Media Lab. This new direction expanded the focus of the show beyond contemporary visual art installation to multidisciplinary practice including interactive media, sound art, performance, and community engaged arts events.
In 2014, Aanmitaagzi presented the first large scale performance at Ice Follies titled Chi Odjig (Anishinaabe mowin for Great Fisher) choreographed by Penny Couchie with international guest artists, internationally acclaimed Columbian indigenous dancer Alejandro Ronceria and acclaimed choreographer and dancer Rulan Tangen.
2022 will be the 10th biannual Ice Follies.
The Ice Follies is just one of many events within the North Bay Arts community. Gallery Hops are run several times every year to help coordinate exhibit openings and downtown art events.
Spectators watching Aanmitaagzi performance “Where Does Art Begin?: Mkomiiwi” on February 22, 2020. Marathon Beach (Memorial Drive, North Bay). Photo by Liz Lott.
Opening day of Ice Follies 2014, just east of The Boat Restaurant on Lake Nipissing. Photo by Liz Lott.
Local politicians making an important cultural funding announcement at a 2014 Ice Follies installation, "A Piano Listening to Itself - Chopin Chord with Cowell Variation" by Gordon Monahan. Photo by Liz Lott.
“Architectures of Transformation - Tamarack Archways” Serpent People Installation by Aanimitaagzi, Ice Follies, February 2018. Photo by Vanessa Tignanelli.
This photo shows part of Aanmitaagzi's installation series and multi-year community engaged project, Serpent People. Serpent People researches, develops and creates art in and around historic Indigenous serpent stories and figures. The thematic catalyst of Serpent People is a historic Anishinaabe story from Lake Nipissing, told by company member and Indigenous knowledge keeper, Perry Mcleod-Shabogeesic. This Anishinaabe story is a critical reflection on themes of water, familial loss, transformation, and serpents. Serpent People provides an opportunity to gather, investigate, dream and create.
Serpent People engages the artists of Aanmitaagzi, the community/artists of Nipissing First Nation / North Bay and our related communities, both regionally, nationally and internationally. This multi-platform project involves community-engaged workshops, intensives, site-specific art events and performances.