Colourful Parachutes Opens at The Power Plant, Inviting Playful Interaction
A fun, interactive exhibition for all ages opens April 25 in Toronto with free admission
What do we want the future to look like? What if we ask the children what they want?
This spring, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery invites visitors to freely interact with the artworks in Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play, a participatory new exhibition opening April 25, 2026.
Bringing together ten artists from Canada and around the world, Colourful Parachutes transforms the gallery into an engaging, hands-on environment where visitors of all ages are encouraged to interact with the art. Designed with young audiences in mind, but just as inviting for adults, the exhibition reimagines what a gallery can be, and what’s possible for the collective future when creativity is put into action.
“Colourful Parachutes is for audiences of all ages, while foregrounding children’s potential as creative agents and future-makers,” says Adelina Vlas, Artistic Director of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. “By centering play as a critically creative force, the exhibition reconsiders how imagination, as well as care and responsibility for the future can be shaped in and beyond the gallery.”
Robin Rhode, Paries Pictus - Draw the Waves, 2013. Vinyl stencils, paint, oil crayons in custom box. With the participation of children from Lalela Project. © Robin Rhode. Courtesy the Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Photo: Mario Todeschini.
Colourful Parachutes asks younger generations to think about what kind of future they imagine for themselves and positions creativity as a powerful tool for shaping it.
- Climb, swing, and move through Lagos-based artist Temitayo Ogunbiyi’s interactive sculpture
- Experiment with natural materials in a hands-on environment by Montreal duo Leisure (Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley)
- Step into Harold Offeh’s The Mothership Collective 2.0 (2025), a vibrant space for people to come together, play, experiment with sound and text, and consider their version of a speculative future
- Enter dream.lab (2024–25) by Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwander, an interactive shadow booth designed in collaboration with children, which prompts reflection on how the world of dreams might allow us to tap into our hidden hopes and fears
- Participate in the erasure of a large-scale graphite mural of the Athabasca Glacier by Toronto artist Claire Greenshaw’s, while gradually reshaping the image over time
Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play is supported by TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment.
Artists include: Claire Greenshaw (Canada), Leisure (Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley) (Canada), Sassa Linklater (Canada), Tobias Linklater (Canada), Ana Mendieta (Cuba/United States), Rivane Neuenschwander (Brazil), Harold Offeh (United Kingdom), Temitayo Ogunbiyi (United States/Nigeria/Jamaica), and Robin Rhode (South Africa/Germany)
About The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to contemporary art, ideas, and conversations. Located at Harbourfront Centre on Toronto’s waterfront, The Power Plant is a vital forum for the creative culture of our time, sharing inspiring and transformative experiences with audiences through free admission to exhibitions and public programs. The Power Plant is guided by the commitment to provide a platform for artists from diverse backgrounds, drawing attention to pressing issues and connecting communities in Canada and worldwide through contemporary art. For more information, please visit thepowerplant.org.
