Artists from Winnipeg and beyond have spent the last two weeks at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art ruminating on the theme of a creek that would have ran beneath their feet in centuries past. Now, those artists are preparing to present their artistic reflections on the Magic Creek at an open studio event as part of Plug In’s Summer Institute. Although each of the artists in this year’s cohort work in a wide variety of mediums, they all were mentored by the Danish-Canadian duo of Louise Witthöft and Rodney LaTourelle. Originally from Winnipeg, LaTourelle explains that the artists used the idea of the lost creek to think about local conditions and how it connects with the world around them. “This is kind of a perennial question of art,” he says, “but we thought we could bring it to a local site, the local conditions. Everyone’s focused on their local surroundings and the details but bringing that to a bigger picture in various ways, ethically [and] ecologically in terms of social justice.” .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } “The first day we met, we of course all introduced ourselves and then we went on a quest for this creek,” recounts Witthöft, noting that this exercise was great for uniting the artists in their goal to speak to the local ecology. “That’s how a lot of conversation started and a lot of artists who are participating are dealing with these issues.” One of these participating artists is Thunder Bay’s Betty Carpick, whose practice involves creating inks out of plant life and local water sources and then using them in a variety of applications. In talking with the other participants over the last couple of weeks, whether it be tracing the lost creek through the downtown or creating side-by-side at the studio, Carpick has been inspired to try different approaches to her land-based practice. “I think anytime we’re around other artists and we’re having conversations that are sparked by what we’re learning, by our experiences, by our knowledge, it just deepens your own sense of what you’re doing.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Plug In ICA (@pluginica) The self-awareness that artists have come into over the past few weeks has been held in tandem with the awareness for the state of the world around them, especially it comes to the Magic Creek they’ve been interacting with. “We had conversations about how memory is important,” says Witthöft, “but also, if you have too much memory, [you] have less imagination and maybe less thoughts. So, it’s that balance between thinking what’s there and realizing that that’s something that’s really lost and terrible, but also, what are the new relationships that we can imagine from that.” Carpick hopes that the people coming to the open studio event will also have thought-provoking conversations about memories and imagination, especially when it comes to the idea of water now lost in Winnipeg’s downtown. “Water is now one of our most precious as well as sacred resources, and we’re so cavalier about the way we treat it,” she says. “Through my arts practice, by having people kind of pause and take a minute to think about water, I hope that they will be better stewards.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Plug In ICA (@pluginica) The open studio event for the Summer Institute participants at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art takes place on August 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with an accompanying reception. More information is available at the institute’s website.