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Artworks

Lights on the Exchange – Allumez le Quartier brings an entirely new experience to the heart of Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District. It invites you to embrace winter and explore light in its many forms, illuminating long nights with light-based art installations that re-examine and reimagine, bringing lesser-known histories to light.

Statistical Bouquet 4
Artist: Lydia Yakonowsky @kaminska.visuals
555 Main St. – Manitoba Museum / Steinkopf Gardens

In Statistical Bouquet 4, data points, models, and statistical graphs converge to form a
vibrant, intricate bouquet, transforming the practical utility of economic analysis into a
visual experience. Through this process, the structured language of data is reconfigured, losing its rigid form and acquiring new layers of significance: each point, curve, and function becomes a luminous, iridescent artifact in its own right. The spectator’s gaze is drawn into a colourful composition, where these newly minted objects of fortune—sparkling relics of data and abstraction—unfold into a luminous and dynamic landscape.

Artist Bio: Lydia Yakonowsky is a Canadian visual artist based in Montreal, working at the
crossroads of digital arts, immersive short films, and performance. She utilizes digital technologies to create real-time visual compositions, which she then
captures and transforms into standalone pieces. Lydia specializes in the fulldome format. Her work reinterprets the visual elements of graphics and econometric models, which are the foundation of her training. This approach questions the utility and reliability of modern economic models. The result is a vast statistical choreography where dismantled grids, wandering parabolas, and strings of data intertwine, all freed from their original functions. Her latest projects, such as her real-time performance ARIMA, explore the theme of forecast errors, highlighting the fragility of quantitative systems and the inherent
uncertainty in predicting human behaviour through data. Lydia’s first dome short film, “Introduction to Econometrics”, won the Local Talent Award at SATFEST 2022, held in Montreal at the Society for Arts and Technology.

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Pepper Green Pepper
Artist: Scott Leroux
52 Albert St.

Using simple methods of screen capturing low-resolution images, video feedback and retrogressive transitions. Scott Leroux creates a dense pallet of ever-changing visuals drenched in subconscious efforts through the exploration of older video techniques. Leroux has imparted to the Winnipeg arts community a legacy of experimental artwork.

Artist Bio: Scott Leroux (1988-2016) earned his BFA (honours) from the University of Manitoba where he studied photography, video, painting, and improvised music. As a self-taught organist and composer, Scott’s use of mediums delves deep into the subconscious, seeking beauty and harmony in the banal.

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Feedback from Room 101
Artist: Aderemilekun “Oluuji” Olusoga @oluuji
80 Rorie St.

Feedback from Room 101 is an excerpt from Oluuji’s SLFMAE residency at Videopool in the summer of 2024. During this residency, he explored feedback synthesis with analog video mixers, combining these techniques with generative AI tools, creating machine-mediated visuals with technologies spanning nearly 30 years of technological advancement. This body of work confronts the discomfort and anxieties surrounding AI art and the potential implications of AI systems on society, while exploring the potential of a novel space in media-art. The title Feedback from Room 101 is a tongue-in-cheek nod to “Room 101” in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), a room where prisoners are sent to face their biggest fears, to break down their resistance against The Party. In Oluuji’s video, transient 3D rendered eyes and faces emerge and dissolve ceaselessly amidst a mesmerizing storm of “AI Feedback” in perpetual motion.

Artist Bio: Aderemilekun “Oluuji” Olusoga is a self-taught Nigerian visual artist currently living in Canada, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from The University of Winnipeg in 2022. His affinity for philosophy, religion, and science deeply informs his multidisciplinary approach, which he uses to explore complex, existential themes. Oluuji’s work invites viewers to reflect on the human condition through a dualistic, existentialist lens, examining concepts of identity, community and time, with a particular fascination for zeitgeist.

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Nature Bots
Artist: Nereo Zorro @scenereo
136 Market Ave.

The technology revolution has undoubtedly aided humanity in many positive ways, but in contrast it has also brought upon damage to our world through pollution and the depletion of natural resources. I wanted to create these nature bots as a reflection of our current digital era and invite people to continue conversations regarding the impacts technology has on humanity. The Nature Bot installation highlights the connection between a healthy brain and a healthy heart. The planter head symbolically suggests that we get enough water sun and oxygen if we really care to light the path for future generations to come.

Artist Bio: Nereo Zorro aka scenereo is a multidisciplinary artist – painter, poet, mover, teacher, father who believes in art being utilized as a powerful tool for creating positive social change. Whether painting large scale murals, speed painting beside a live orchestra, leading dance workshops, performing spoken word poetry or sculpting larger than life creatures, Nereo always looks for the interconnectedness in all of his work. When asked “what is your favourite medium to work with?” You may often catch him responding with the answer: “life”

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Cedar Tunnel
Artist: Mamie Griffith
100 Arthur St. – Artspace Drayway

Cedar Tunnel celebrates the healing power of nature in its many forms, offering a profound reminder of our innate connection to plants and the land. Forests provide us with nourishment, clean air, and shelter, sustaining both body and spirit. This exhibit invites you to experience the transformative quality of cedar—a tree revered for its medicinal and sacred properties—by immersing yourself in a space designed to inspire personal healing and connection to nature.

As you step into the Cedar Tunnel, you are enveloped by the soothing sounds of the forest, brought to life by a thoughtfully crafted sound installation, created in collaboration.

Allow the vibrant greenery, scent of cedar, and the rich textures of the natural materials to awaken your senses. The blend of sight, sound, smell, and touch creates a healing place of peace and well-being, offering a moment of quiet reflection and renewal as you pass through this immersive experience.

Artist Bio: Mamie is a Dene/European designer with a background in architecture and landscape architecture. She specializes in weaving Indigenous cultures into the built environment, with a focus on crafting inclusive, sustainable spaces through community engagement and collaborative design. Her multifaceted practice spans production design, architecture, and landscape design, driven by a deep passion for working with Indigenous-led organizations to create spaces that honour cultural identity and address community needs.

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Soundscape
Artist: Ashley Au
100 Arthur St. – Artspace Drayway

Artist Bio: Ashley Au (she/they) is a Winnipeg-based bassist, composer, sound artist, arranger and queer creative. A multifaceted musician, Ashley specializes in the upright and electric basses – performing, touring and recording extensively for the last 15 years. Current and past projects include work with Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson; composer/trumpeter Chuck Copenace; and Polaris Prize-nominated hip-hop outfit Super Duty Tough Work. As a composer, Ashley has had work commissioned and performed and exhibited nationally and internationally as a solo artist and collaboratively in the worlds of experimental music, theatre and film. She is the Managing Artistic Director for Cluster: New Music + Integrated Arts Festival.

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Colonial Cartoons: Nanabush Across Time
Artist: Kaine McEwan @kain_mcewan
185 Bannatyne Ave.

Nanabush is originally a “mythological” trickster spirit told in many Anishinaabe stories. I decided to interpret him in my own way by using that trickster feel and making him tell stories of Indigenous urbanization and the real issues Indigenous people face. Nanabush is supposed to represent Indigenous people as a whole in my cartoons, all the creators I create within this world are to poke fun or address the real issues going on with commercialization of Indigenous objects or the history of colonial times. To kind of mask it in this fun, rubber-hose cartoon style and make people look twice at it, to really engage the audience.

Artist Bio: Kaine McEwan is a two-spirit Anishinaabe artist from Treaty 1 Winnipeg Manitoba. By taking aspects from traditional Indigenous art and mixing it with urban art, I like to create a unique style of graphic illustrations. I started drawing at an early age, taking an interest in video games and animals, eventually evolving into more character concept art. I attended the University of Manitoba School of Art, pursuing a Design Honours degree.

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Unenlightened Triptych
Artist: Bonnie Marin
93 Albert St.

The concept behind the work, is the oppression of marginalized groups of people through the manipulation of religious doctrines and beliefs, that only benefit the few who maintain all the power. Medieval and Renaissance religious paintings were the inspiration for the style of the work, everyday life was the conceptual inspiration. The images on display are printed on plexiglass for its illuminating effect, the originals were built using mixed media collage and coloured pencils

Artist Bio: Bonnie Marin’s practice includes painting, sculpture, collage and bookworks. Her works are narrative-based, telling stories of social interactions between people. It comes from a feminist perspective, and often plays with images of gender, religion and nature. Though her work often deals with dark themes, Marin uses humour by combining elements of pop art and surrealism. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and her pieces are held in various public and private collections.

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Lucent
Artist: PJ Anderson @pjandersonceramics
492 Main St.

This installation was inspired by the venomous and surreal journey of the Lions mane and the Moon jellyfish, both native to Canada’s shores. When tasked with this project of light in the middle of winter, I considered many options, but settled upon an alien-like being among us. I’ve always leaned towards the scifi, the fantastic and the traditional, This installation explores them all, taking traditionally inspired vessels and changing the perspective of how it is perceived. In doing so, they stopped being pots and became alien, unexpected and exciting.

Artist Bio: Pj Anderson is CaribbeanCanadian/Red River Métis artist from Thompson, Manitoba, Canada. She has shown internationally, as Resident Artist at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, China as a finalist in the International Ceramic Magazine Editors Associations (ICMEA) emerging artist competition, the United States and across Canada. She is a recent MFA Graduate from the University of Manitoba and a former NCECA Director at Large. She is currently serving as NCECA’s Director of Programming 2024-2026 and is part of the Organizational team of the Color Network. She has been featured in ‘Ceramics Monthly’ and ‘Studio Magazine’ and has appeared in several books and articles including ‘Craft is Political’ by Heidi McKenzie the textbook ‘Experience Clay’ by Maureen MacKay and ‘The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors’ by Ben Carter.

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Darling, Pass Me My Teeth
Artist: Matea Radic @lovematea
123 Bannatyne Ave. – John Hirsch Place

Darling, Pass Me My Teeth explores the dichotomy between transience and permanence, nostalgia and fragility, embodied through the juxtaposition of a pair of dentures and a single hard candy. These everyday objects, laden with personal and societal connotations, serve as a reminder of the inevitable life cycle and a reflection of indulgence.

Artist Bio: Matea Radic is a visual artist born in Sarajevo, BiH. She lives and works in Winnipeg, MB. She works in a variety of mediums including animation, painting and sculpture. Steeped in dark humour, her work explores themes of war, the ever-shifting landscape of childhood memories and the tender ache for familiarity. She is interested in how linguistic nuances can shape our perceptions and how straddling two culturally diverse worlds can inform our collective humanity. She has worked on animated music videos with Royal Canoe, Jim Croce and has designed a set for Begonia. She is currently in production on a short animated film, titled Paradajz which is being produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

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Shawl + Pillar – Poet Box
Stage Design: Brian Gluck,
Poets: Tino Hove, Seream
123 James Ave. – Saintuary Cafe

Poetry Reading Schedule:
Friday, February 7th: 6:30pm + 8pm
Friday, March 7th: 7pm + 8:30pm

This body of work aims to embrace and emphasize the performers involved. This set design features an upright column of steel and light placed heavily in the space. “Pillar” reveals light along its entire length. Also found in the space is a large steel and wood based overhead light. “Shawl”. Drawn from the act of fabrication, this piece wraps around the user.

Artist Bios: Brian Gluck lives and works in Winnipeg, MB. He is a Red Seal Machinist, Musician and Wood Worker. His work is centred around the ideas that come from the act the fabrication. Designing for manufacturability and making work that embodies the inherent human experience found within it. He uses elements of light and shadow to emphasize these ideas in mixed mediums including wood, steel, aluminum and textiles.
Sebastian (Seream) Galliard: Seream is a Francophone artist who explores poetry through a variety of practices. He continues to focus on poetry, multiplying his collaborations with other artists, and is committed to the invention of new poetic forms, both living and written. Through his creations and slam workshops, he works tirelessly to place poetry at the heart of our lives.
Tino Hove (Poet)

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Three Horses for Three Ponies
Artists: Katherine Boyer
100 Arthur St. – Bannatyne Ave. Window

Artist Bio: Katherine Boyer (Métis/Settler) is a multidisciplinary artist, whose work is focused on methods bound to textile arts and the handmade – primarily woodworking and beadwork. Boyer’s art and research encompasses personal family narratives, entwined with Métis history, material culture, architectural spaces (human made and natural). Her work often explores boundaries between two opposing things as an effort to better understand both sides of a perceived dichotomous identity. This manifests in long, slow, and considerate laborious processes that attempt to unravel and better understand history, environmental influences, and personal memories.

Boyer has received a BFA from the University of Regina (Sculpture + Printmaking) and an MFA at the University of Manitoba. She currently holds a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba, School of Art.

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Peaceful Protest, the Dividend of True Democracy
Artist: Yisa Akinbolaji @yisaakinbolaji
492 Main St.

The Exchange District was the site of Winnipeg’s General Strike. My lantern celebrates the power of the people and peaceful protest. People’s voices must always be heard, and their human rights must be respected.

Artist Bio: Born in Ondo, Yisa Akinbolaji is an interdisciplinary artist from Lagos, Nigeria, who settled in Winnipeg in 1997. He describes himself as an experimentalist and emphasizes the significance of curiosity and productivity for his evolution. Yisa developed Remoglue medium for his painting and is founder of the Creative Foundation Inc.

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Light
Artist: Bîstyek @bistyek_
155 Bannatyne Ave.

“Light” in the artist’s two languages, English and Arabic ضوء Daw’, are merged and suggest hope during the darkest times. The lantern is intended to bring brightness, joy, and warmth, and serve as a reminder of the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Artist Bio: Bîstyek is a Winnipeg-based, self-taught artist. He was born in Syria from a Kurdish family and arrived in Canada as a refugee in 2017. Bîstyek’s style is dramatic and angular, with flashes of memories captured in unsettling shapes and sometimes saturated colour. His pieces are heavily influenced by his personal life and experiences. 

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Beacons
Artist: Anna Binta Diallo @annabintadiallo
155 Bannatyne Ave.

Silhouetted figures from archival photographs highlight multiple histories and the people who pass through this area over time. What draws people here, and why were some displaced? Skyscrapers, industrious warehouses, and financial institutions were erected, but the land was already inhabited by Indigenous people. Immigrants settled the area. There was a historic strike. Today, it is Winnipeg’s artistic core. 

Artist Bio: Anna Binta Diallo (b Dakar, Senegal) is a Canadian multi-disciplinary visual artist who investigates memory and nostalgia to create unexpected narratives surrounding identity. Her work has been widely exhibited in Canada and internationally. In 2021, she won the Barbara Sphor Memorial Prize and received the Black Designers of Canada award of Excellence. In 2022, she was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award. 

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Lii Faam Michif Mashkawishiwak pi Tipeemishowak (Métis women are strong and free/own themselves)
Artist: Claire Johnston @clairejohnston__
474 Main St.

My lantern shines a light on the story of Annie Bannatyne, a well-educated Métis woman and philanthropist from the 19th century. Annie publicly shamed and whipped an anti-Métis bigot, exclaiming “this is how the women of Red River treat those who insult them”. This lantern is a tribute to the fierce spirit of Métis women past, present, and future, and exemplifies the unique fire within our hearts.

Artist Bio: Claire Johnston (they/she) is a Michif beadwork artist based in her Homeland of Winnipeg, MB. She is currently mentoring with Jennine Krauchi as part of the MAWA Foundation Mentorship Program. As an Autistic person, Claire’s art practice is informed by the strengthening of relationships — with herself, her kin and the natural world.

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Magic Fish
Artist: Natalie Mark @floodkiss
168 Bannatyne Ave.

Magic Fish is designed to bring light and magic where extra stars are needed. The jackfish, walleye and catfish connect the urban landscape to nature and the nearby Red River, where all these fish can be found.

Artist Bio: Natalie is an illustrator and cartoonist. In addition to their illustrative practice, they have co-created an installation at Pride Toronto’s street fair, facilitated workshops, and created video work for Reel Asian International Film Festival. Recently, they have been teaching at their local art gallery. Natalie loves going to their local library and making zines!

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Indigenous Perspectives on the Exchange
Artist: Justine Proulx @justineproulx
131 Albert St.

My lantern offers an Indigenous perspective on the history of the Exchange District. The first panel is dedicated to First Nations and the bison who sustained them, especially through the harshest of winters. The second panel represents the Red River Settlement and the dangerous and exhausting work of the Voyageurs. The third panel shows the Exchange District in more modern times, owing much of its growth to Métis and First Nations peoples.

Artist Bio: Justine is a Métis Tattooist & Mural Artist in Winnipeg, Manitoba. From a young age, she felt called to create and serve in industries that fuelled her creative passion and love for working closely with people. She is always looking for ways to honour her heritage, specifically with her woodland art/tattoos, and murals. 

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Wiikondiwag : to feast together. 
Artist: Destiny Seymour @indigo_arrows
155 Bannatyne Ave.

My lantern was inspired by patterns on an ancient pot. Southern Manitoba has a rich history of ceramics dating back over 5000 years. These early cooking tools were our first beautifully decorated home goods. Many are currently living in the Manitoba Museum with over 3 million shards catalogued. They are relatively unknown by the general population. It’s time we celebrate these beautiful designs. 

Artist Bio: Destiny Seymour is an Anishinaabe interior designer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her practice takes a critical look at the representation of Indigenous cultures within design and architecture. She works with patterns from local Indigenous pottery and bone tools that date from 400 to over 3000 years old. These patterns are picking up where her ancestors left off. 

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The Sun Rises and Sets with You
Artist: Jackie Traverse @artbyjackietraverse
140 Bannatyne Ave.

The Sun Rises and Sets with You depicts a mother’s unconditional love of her children, the land and waters.

Artist Bio: Jackie Traverse is a multi-disciplinary Indigenous artist with a practice rooted in community. She draws her inspiration from her Ojibway culture and her community of Lake St. Martin First Nation, and her experiences as a native woman living in Winnipeg. She is widely known in art communities across Canada for her painting, drawing, documentary, and sculptural works that speak to the realities of being an Indigenous woman. 

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Murmurings
Artist: Paul Robles @paulrobles_cut
510 Main St. – City Hall

The birds and the skyline seen from studio windows make me think of Murmuration. I consider this epic natural phenomenon of large flocks flying together, twisting, and turning, and changing direction to understand the diaspora of the Exchange. The lanterns invite you to connect with its past as a hub of labour and commerce, to think of migrant/immigrant (sewing) factories, and to create your own narratives.

Artist Bio: Filipino born Winnipeg artist Paul Robles is known for his intricate cut paper works. He combines delicate craft with animist familiars, folklore, ghosts, and grief to explore psychological and emotional states. Recently, Robles has begun to incorporate sculptural elements into his work. 

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wiigwaas gikendamowin
Artists: KC Adams @adams_kc
510 Main St. – City Hall

My lantern honours the Exchange District as an arts hub and vibrant place to visit, and it recognizes the original peoples of this territory. My designs represent technologies that Indigenous people embraced in the past and present; beading, birchbark biting, and modern information technologies. The imagery contains Indigenous knowledge that vibrates with a wealth of wisdom, balance, hope, and innovation.

Artist Bio: KC Adams is of Anishinaabe, Niheyew, and British descent and lives in Winnipeg. Adams is a relational maker whose work connects to Indigenous axiology and epistemology––recognizing her role as an educator, activist, community member and mentor. In addition, Adams creates work that explores technology and its relationship to her Indigenous identity and knowledge systems.

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PAG-ASA (HOPE)
Artist: Jonato Dalayoan @4two_design
171 Bannatyne Ave.

Unique patterns were created for each side of the lantern to represent the diversity within our community and the integration of different cultures working together. The design is intended to reflect the bustling creative energy of the Exchange today, while finding joy in the chaos. 

Artist Bio: Jonato Dalayoan is an award-winning graphic designer and visual artist whose work is distinguished by a unique blend of urban art and professional design sensibilities. Jonato prides himself in being versatile. He draws inspiration from his family, faith, heritage, nature, community, and artistic interests. With two decades of experience in leading agencies in the Prairies, he is currently the owner of 4two Design Inc. 

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Yagasuri Wheat 
Artist: Takashi Iwasaki @takashi.iwasaki.art
137 Bannatyne Ave.

Yagasuri Wheat reflects on the historical significance of the Exchange District, its modern-day function and iconic existence, and its future as a more culturally diverse and inclusive place. A traditional Japanese textile pattern of repeated arrow fletchers evokes wheat fields here. Between the spikes of wheat are nibs of a fountain pen that could be used by the artists and writers of the Exchange.

Artist Bio: Takashi Iwasaki was born in Japan and moved to Winnipeg at the age of 20 to study fine art and become a visual artist. Being immersed in the visual art scene and feeling rooted in the community, I have called Winnipeg my new hometown, where I have lived and worked for 20 years. 

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