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Solo exhibitions by Ron Terada and Jen Aitken are presented alongside _in parallel_ group exhibition featuring Ella Gonzales, Micah Lexier, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Erdem Taşdelen, Sami Tsang, and Shaheer Zazai

 Ron Terada, TL; DR 4, 2019–20.  52 acrylic-on-canvas paintings, 305 x 1,585 cm. Courtesy Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver. Photo: Rachel Topham Photography.

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The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, is excited to announce its Summer 2023 exhibition season—a showcase of contemporary Canadian art. The programming includes two solo exhibitions by Canadian artists Ron Terada and Jen Aitken, alongside the second part of the group exhibition in parallel featuring six artists with strong connections to Toronto. The exhibitions run from June 23–September 4, 2023 with free admission to the gallery. 

Visitors can anticipate a multidisciplinary experience, with provocative approaches to language, form, and materials, engaging in topics such as digital and analogue media, built environments, and language-based forms of resistance. 

The exhibitions will be accompanied by a wide variety of public programs including tours, talks, and workshops. Late openings on Thursdays and Fridays until 8 PM throughout the summer months will allow visitors to make the most of the longer days by the waterfront.  

Families can engage with the exhibitions through Power Kids, free creative workshops for children aged 7–12 on select Sundays, and the new Power Kids Creative Hub located on the second floor of the gallery during regular opening hours. All programming details to be announced on The Power Plant’s [Event Calendar](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/calendar).

Erdem Taşdelen, A Moving Target, 2021–22. Computer-generated montage sequence with 100 silent UHD videos, approx. 1:40:00. Courtesy the artist.

“This summer, we are delighted to be exhibiting eight artists demonstrating the breadth and strength of the contemporary art landscape of Canada today. Encompassing both established artists and those earlier in their career, this season offers a variety of inspirations and opportunities to engage in conversations on the pressing issues of our time.” 
—Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs 

**Ron Terada**  
**_WE DID THIS TO OURSELVES_**  
  
Curator: Kitty Scott, guest curator 
  
Vancouver-based artist Ron Terada will present his first major solo exhibition in Toronto since 2018, including his monumental painting series TL; DR, 2017–22, and a newly commissioned sign sculpture in The Power Plant’s Fleck Clerestory that also lends its title to the exhibition.  
  
TL; DR is a series of paintings featuring headlines generated from The Verge, an online tech-news source, recasting the captions in the distinct font used by The New York Times. TL; DR is internet slang for “too long; didn’t read,” and Terada’s wry works speak to our shared sense of frustration when faced with the overwhelming experience of today’s often catastrophic news. The exhibition features the latest body of work in the TL; DR series: an epic cycle of 325 paintings that tells a story of 2020, the ﬁrst year of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Jen Aitken, Altered Cylinder A (Reaching), 2023. Epoxy resin and fibreglass cloth. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid 

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**Jen Aitken**  
**_The Same Thing Looks Different_**  
  
Curator: Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs  
Assistant Curator: Jacqueline Kok, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau Curatorial Fellow, 2021–23 
  
Jen Aitken is a Toronto-based artist whose first major institutional presentation features both new commissions and a selection of existing concrete sculptures. Primarily working in sculpture, Aitken’s practice considers how we relate to space, form, and material as we move through our urban environment. Common building materials—concrete, wood, and fibreglass—are formed into unexpected and ambiguous configurations that engage the viewer's body and interact with the gallery's architecture. Aitken will also debut her first video installation, animating the geometric language of her sculptures into an immersive prelude to the exhibition. 
  
**_in parallel_**  
**Ella Gonzales, Micah Lexier, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Erdem Taşdelen, Sami Tsang, and Shaheer Zazai**  
  
Curators: Jacqueline Kok, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau Curatorial Fellow, 2021–23, and Joséphine Denis, TD Curator of Education and Outreach Fellow, 2021–23 
  
in parallel is the second iteration of a two-part exhibition that platforms the work of twelve artists with strong connections to Toronto, evoking The Power Plant’s very first exhibition, Toronto: A Play of History (Jeu d’histoire), 1987. The summer exhibition showcases works by Ella Gonzales, Micah Lexier, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Erdem Taşdelen, Sami Tsang, and Shaheer Zazai, and will feature painting, textile, video, ceramics, sculpture, and an interactive scavenger hunt around The Power Plant’s building.  
  
Works by Anique Jordan and Simon Fuh from the first part of the exhibition will remain on display throughout the summer season.  

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The Power Plant’s Summer 2023 Season Showcases the Breadth and Strength of Contemporary Canadian Art

Director Graham Foy’s debut feature-length film will screen at the Toronto gallery ahead of its national theatrical release, with a panel discussion hosted by Atom Egoyan

Still from The Maiden, 2022.

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is delighted to announce a film screening of _The Maiden_ (2022), directed by Graham Foy, as part of its free public programming that is accompanying the exhibition _Drink from the river_ by Edmonton-based artist Brenda Draney, who hails from Sawridge First Nation. 
  
On Friday, April 28, 2023, the evening will begin at 6 PM with a reception and a chance to see the exhibition at The Power Plant, followed by the film screening at Harbourfront Centre Theatre and a panel discussion hosted by filmmaker Atom Egoyan.  
  
This will be the first time _The Maiden_ has been shown in Toronto since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2022. The Power Plant has a long history of championing film and moving-image works. Recent examples include an exhibition of video works by Meriem Bennani as part of TIFF Wavelengths in September 2022, and a screening of Grada Kilomba’s _Illusions, Vol. III, Antigone_ in February 2022.  

There are many thematic connections between the paintings and sculptures in _Drink from the river_ and the film _The Maiden_, including their immediate ties to Edmonton: 
  
“Draney’s exhibition seeks to examine the relationship between familiarity, nostalgia, horror, and intimacy—all four entangled in a perpetual dance. Draney’s exhibition and _The Maiden_ share central themes around the delicate balance between the events, memories, and moments that haunt us individually versus the ones that connect us collectively.”  
—Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs, The Power Plant  
  
“In my first feature film, _The Maiden_ (2022), I, like Draney, drew heavily from personal memory. My process as a screenwriter and filmmaker is rooted in a sense of rediscovery, looking back through wide vistas of time to create something new based on the past. This process tends to reveal empty gaps in psychological space—things are forgotten, left out, reinterpreted. These gaps leave room for mystery and imagination; they inform something that, in my own work, feels closer to personal mythology than factual history.”  
—Graham Foy, Director, _The Maiden_  


Brenda Draney, Drink from the river, 2023. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

**About _Drink from the river_**  
_Drink from the river_ features a selection of existing and newly commissioned works that examine the complex nature of intimacy. Referencing her own memories and experiences living in Edmonton, artist Brenda Draney explores the layered meanings embedded in everyday motifs and situations. The exhibition is part of The Power Plant’s Winter 2023 season and is on view until May 14, 2023. A publication on _Drink from the river_ includes a text by Graham Foy and will be released later in 2023. The exhibition and publication were supported by Rob and Monique Sobey, and the exhibition’s forthcoming tour is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. 

**About _The Maiden_**  
Shot in Alberta, Graham Foy gives _The Maiden_ an exquisite sense of place, echoed by the atmospheric 16 mm cinematography of the epic landscapes and open prairie skies. Moving between realism and something more like a dream, _The Maiden_ gently navigates the vulnerable and tender inner lives of adolescents, reminiscent of Sofia Coppola and Gus Van Sant’s coming-of-age classics. The film further announces the arrival of the three striking leads: Jackson Sluiter, Marcel T Jiménez, and Hayley Ness. _The Maiden_ has been recognized as the winner of the BNL for Cinema of the Future Award (Venice Film Festival); winner of the FIPRESCI Prize and the Award of the Student Jury, as well as Special Mention for Best Screenplay – Rainer Werner Fassbinder Award (IFF Mannheim-Heidelberg); and winner of the Grand Prix – National Feature Competition (Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Montreal). The film was produced by MDFF and F F Films Inc. and made with the generous support of Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.  

For more information and to register for free tickets, visit [Eventbrite.](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-maiden-film-screening-tickets-606860284447) 

**About MDFF**  
MDFF is an independent artist-focused production and distribution label committed to focusing on unique, director-driven projects that propel the form forward. Founded by Dan Montgomery and Kazik Radwanski in 2009, MDFF stands for Medium Density Fibreboard Films, reflecting the company’s DIY roots and ethos. They have collaborated with filmmakers like Nicolás Pereda, Graham Foy, Sofia Bohdanowicz, Antoine Bourges, and more. The company's short films and features have screened at renowned international festivals across the globe, including the New York Film Festival, Berlinale, Locarno, Venice, SXSW, BFI London, and Toronto International Film Festival. As curators, MDFF has presented the Toronto premiere of new and exciting works from filmmakers like Ricky D’Ambrose, Khalik Allah, Hong Sang-soo, Josephine Decker, Bi Gan, and Alex Ross Perry. For more information, visit [mdff.ca](https://mdff.ca/).

thumbnail_Still from The Maiden, 2022.

The Power Plant Screens The Maiden as Part of Free Public Programs Accompanying the Exhibition Drink from the river by Brenda Draney 

The gallery is piloting a program to nurture young refugees and their families through creativity and engagement with contemporary art

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is proud to announce its collaboration with Christie Refugee Welcome Centre, enabling a creative welcome to Canada for their residents.  

As part of The Power Plant’s mission to connect all communities with leading contemporary art, the gallery will host a series of art-making workshops at Christie Refugee Welcome Centre over March break next week (March 13–17, 2023). This week-long itinerary of art activities will culminate in a guided tour of the gallery to see solo exhibitions by Amartey Golding and Brenda Draney, alongside a group exhibition by Ontario-based artists titled _in parallel_.  

Located in downtown Toronto, Christie Refugee Welcome Centre (CRWC) has provided emergency shelter and a warm welcome for refugee families from all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds for more than two decades. Every year, CRWC hosts more than 200 residents, with 50% of them being children. At CRWC, refugees receive the care, support, and assistance they need to pursue their refugee claim and to reconstruct and begin their new lives in Canada.  

Nilou Salimi, Power Kids and Outreach Coordinator at The Power Plant and a Toronto-based artist, will lead the series of art-making workshops at the shelter. The workshops will draw on critical themes from The Power Plant’s Summer 2022 exhibitions, which featured works by Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth and Iraqi Kurdish artist Hiwa K, who tackle critical issues of migration, displacement, and identity. 

Power Kids workshop participant at The Power Plant, Toronto, 2023. Photo: Hyerim Han

“We’re very excited to deliver creative workshops to the children staying at Christie Refugee Welcome Centre over March break and invite them to the gallery for a guided tour. I hope that through art-making and immersing themselves in contemporary art, the participants will find subject matter that resonates with them and an outlet to express themselves.”   
—Nilou Salimi, Power Kids and Outreach Coordinator, The Power Plant 

“We are so grateful to The Power Plant for partnering with us on March break programming. The refugee children that live in our shelter are unbelievably resilient. They’ve experienced and seen things during their refugee journey that are heartbreaking. Despite the children’s resiliency, we also recognize that they may be dealing with trauma and difficult emotions that they struggle to express. These art workshops will help the children’s creative skills and expression through art.”  
—Manny Wong, Executive Director, Christie Refugee Welcome Centre 

The Power Plant offers free access to its exhibitions and public programs through its _All Year, All Free_ initiative. Families in Toronto can attend Power Kids—free, creative workshops for children aged 7–12 on select Sundays, and schools can participate in our school visits program. Furthermore, the gallery invests in community outreach through creative workshops in partnership with community organizations. Past partners have included the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Making Art Making Change, March of Dimes, and Campfire Circle.  

**About Christie Refugee Welcome Centre**  
Christie Refugee Welcome Centre (CRWC) operates a 76-bed emergency shelter and offers initial settlement services to refugee claimants from around the world. It also provides an Outreach Program for families after they have moved out of the shelter to provide ongoing settlement, referrals for essential services, and basic needs support. For more information, please visit [christiestreetrc.com](https://christiestreetrc.com/).  

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The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery Delivers Art Workshops with Christie Refugee Welcome Centre

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Discover The Power Plant Archives

Ron Terada: WE DID THIS TO OURSELVES

WE DID THIS TO OURSELVES

Jen Aitken: The Same Thing Looks Different

The Same Thing Looks Different

_in parallel_ is a group exhibition that brings together six artists from Tkaronto and surrounding areas, exploring how visual documentation and cultural practices can reclaim the narratives of their respective communities despite colonialism’s persistence. 

in parallel

On view 

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Welcome to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

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Give the gift of art

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Join us for a party to celebrate the launch of The Power Plant's three new Summer 2023 exhibitions!  
  
On Thursday, June 22 starting at 8 PM, be amongst the first to see exciting solo shows by artists [Ron Terada](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/we-did-this-to-ourselves) and [Jen Aitken](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/the-same-thing-looks-different), as well as the second iteration of _[in parallel](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/in-parallel)_, a group exhibition featuring works by Ella Gonzales, Micah Lexier, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Erdem Taşdelen, Sami Tsang, and Shaheer Zazai.  

All three exhibitions share provocative approaches to language, form, and materials, engaging in topics such as digital and analogue media, built environments, and language-based forms of resistance. The new season will be accompanied by a wide variety of public programs including tours, talks, and kids workshops.  
  
Admission is free. RSVP on Eventbrite to secure your free ticket.  


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Opening Party of Summer 2023 Exhibitions

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On July 16, we invite families to join the first Power Kids workshop of the season called News and Paper!  
  
Inspired by Ron Terada's exhibition, [We Did This to Ourselves](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/we-did-this-to-ourselves), families will create the first page of a fictional newspaper using drawing materials, font stencils, and simple printmaking techniques.

Power Kids

Ron Terada (b. 1969, Vancouver; lives/works: Vancouver) has developed a wide-ranging conceptual art practice over more than two decades, which includes painting, photography, video, and music, as well as publications, posters, billboards, and signage. Terada is a graduate of the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. 

Ron Terada (b. 1969, Vancouver; lives/works: Vancouver) has developed a wide-ranging conceptual art practice over more than two decades, which includes painting, photography, video, and music, as well as publications, posters, billboards, and signage. Terada is a graduate of the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. In 2006, he was awarded the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, Visual Art, from the Canada Council for the Arts, and in 2004, he won the VIVA Award, Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts, Vancouver. Terada's significant solo exhibitions include the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2018); Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver (2017); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2011). Recent group exhibitions include the Vancouver Art Gallery (2021, 2017); Kunstverein in Hamburg (2019); Kunsthalle Wien (2016); Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit (2013); 4th Guangzhou Triennial (2012); and CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco (2012).

Power Kids takes place on select Sundays throughout our exhibition seasons and includes a guided tour in or outside the gallery followed by a short creative activity. Each workshop is different, so kids can return throughout the season and be inspired every time.

Power Kids is a series of free creative workshops for children aged 7–12, led by skilled and dynamic artist-educators and inspired by our current exhibitions.


On July 16, we invite families to join the first Power Kids workshop of the season called News and Paper!  
  

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Power Kids: News and Paper

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On July 30 join a fun Power Kids art workshop called Caring Caricatures!  
  
The Caring Caricatures workshop is inspired by the works of one of in parallel artists, Sami Tsang. Participants will explore Tsang's interest in family stories and new cartoon-like characters. Using clay and paint, families will create their own imaginative caricatures.



Sami Tsang is a Chinese-Canadian artist working primarily as a ceramicist. Her sculptures stem from her own narratives as well as the stories she gathers around domestic encounters. Using clay, resin, rice paper and ball point pen, Tsang channels these stories into her art-making to reveal shared, raw, emotional experiences.

Sami Tsang is a Chinese-Canadian artist working primarily as a ceramicist. Her sculptures stem from her own narratives as well as the stories she gathers around domestic encounters. Using clay, resin, rice paper and ball point pen, Tsang channels these stories into her art-making to reveal shared, raw, emotional experiences. Tsang earned a Master of Fine Art degree in Ceramic Art at Alfred University (NY) in 2021 and is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Harbourfront Centre.

On July 30 join a fun Power Kids art workshop called Caring Caricatures!

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Power Kids: Caring Caricatures 

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On August 13, we invite families to join our Power Kids workshop called Plaster Cast!

Inspired by the use of concrete and other casting materials featured in Jen Aitken's sculptural exhibition, The Same Thing Looks Different families will make plaster-cast sculptures.

Jen Aitken (b.1985) makes sculptures and drawings that combine perceptual ambiguity with structural clarity. Based in Toronto, she received her MFA in 2014 from the University of Guelph, and her BFA in 2010 from Emily Carr University, Vancouver. Aitken received a Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts Award in 2021, and the Hnatyshyn Foundation and TD Bank Emerging Visual Artist Award in 2017.

Jen Aitken (b.1985) makes sculptures and drawings that combine perceptual ambiguity with structural clarity. Based in Toronto, she received her MFA in 2014 from the University of Guelph, and her BFA in 2010 from Emily Carr University, Vancouver. Aitken received a Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts Award in 2021, and the Hnatyshyn Foundation and TD Bank Emerging Visual Artist Award in 2017. Recent exhibitions include the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg (2022) where the artist also completed a residency; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2021); Arsenal Contemporary Art, Toronto (2021); and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC (2020). Her works have been acquired by Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Kamloops Art Gallery; McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; and RBC, Toronto.

On August 13, we invite families to join our Power Kids workshop called Plaster Cast!

The Power Plant