Cool Art in the Heart of Winter

Every two years, a strange phenomenon occurs in North Bay. Just off Marathon beach on Lake Nipissing, folks venture onto the frozen landscape, where atop the ice an arrangement of structures appears. 

Ice Follies is a biennial festival of contemporary art on frozen Lake Nipissing, which sits at the heart of our communities and becomes an accessible site for a short period of time in winter. On a canvas as tranquil as it is volatile, the works are placed in direct harmony with light, water, wind, ice and snow. 

In 2020, this event unique to North Bay opens on February 15, including sculptural, video, and performance-based installations and interactions. Artists exhibited from across Canada include Destiny Swiderski, Jon Sasaki, Emily Pelstring, Christine Negus, Aanmitaagzi, Megan Feheley, Jenna Dawn Maclellan, and more.

According to the official website, the theme this year is “mkomiiwi | be ice, turn to ice, be covered in ice, be icy: exploring that transformation from water to ice and from one realm to another. As we shift and adapt new worlds are opened and old pathways disappear. Our mode of travel changes. Ice heaves form from prevailing winds. Ice is pushed up against itself, the shore.”

Not-to-Miss Events

Opening Night 2020
Warm refreshments, artist activations, artist talks
February 15
5 pm
Marathon Beach (Memorial Drive, North Bay) 

“Where Does Art Begin?: Mkomiiwi”
Performance by Aanmitaagzi
February 22
7 pm
Marathon Beach (Memorial Drive, North Bay)

Ice Follies runs February 15-29 at Marathon Beach off North Bay’s Waterfront. 

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