Taking place over two weekends from February 1 to 9, 2020, the Department of Illumination has announced the return of ICE BOX, a public art experience with installations and music at Macaulay Heritage Park in Picton.
At the heart of this winter event are five colourful wooden ICE BOXes, each transformed into an interactive installation led by local artists, in collaboration with community members of all ages.
The five ICE BOXes include:
STITCH by Nella Casson and guest artist Marion Casson
Inspired by a recent cross-Canada train trip by the mother-daughter team, Nella and Marion Casson’s STITCH will recreate the inside of a train car, imagining the experience of those who traveled here in a bygone era.
Prior to ICE BOX, Nella will lead a series of embroidery workshops where participants will be asked to imagine themselves aboard a train destined for Picton.
Stitchers will create embroidered pieces that explore the question: “what do you take with you?” which will be displayed within the STITCH ICE BOX.
MAP by Andrea Piller
Andrea Piller will work with local students, guiding them as they explore what winters were like in a time before modern conveniences.
Topographical maps of the region will be enlarged, gridded, numbered and divided and each student will receive a piece of the map.
Students will conduct research through books, online resources, and community elders to create layered text and mixed media collages on their piece of the map, which will then be reassembled and mounted for display in the MAP ICE BOX.
PRINT by Chrissy Poitras and Genna Kusch Printmakers
Chrissy Poitras and Genna Kusch will create a series of relief prints which they will turn into intricate interactive pop-ups; reminiscent of the childhood pop-up book.
Working on the theme of ‘migration,’ their creation will be informed by a series of workshops with a local high school class about idea generation and research.
The students will then present their findings to the artists which in turn will become the basis for the PRINT ICE BOX.
GROW by Susanne Larner
Susanne Larner’s GROW transports the viewer into a Victorian greenhouse, filled with plants, both real and those constructed from a variety of artistic media.
A County local who can trace her Loyalist roots back several hundred years, her ICE BOX installation contemplates the seeds, literal and figurative, that settlers brought with them when they arrived in this place.
BE HERE NOW by Hri Neil
Hri Neil explores his fascination with play in BE HERE NOW, a play-space for all ages that meditates on the present as it relates to the past as well as an imagined future. The BE HERE NOW ICE BOX reminds viewers to enjoy the moment and allow themselves to play.
Additional ICE BOX programming includes performances by Justin Rutledge, a presentation by Six String Nation, snow dances with choreographer Arwyn Carpenter, fire spinning and a flow workshop with Trellis Arts & Entertainment.
