The Power Plant archives, 2011. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
March 24 – September 3, 2012
Opening: Friday, March 23, 8–11 p.m.
THE POWER PLANT CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY
231 Queens Quay West
Toronto, ON M5J 2G8
T: 416.973.4949
E: info@thepowerplant.org
thepowerplant.org
Hours: Tues–Sun 12–6, Sat 12–8, Open holiday Mondays
Curator: Melanie O’Brian
Dissenting Histories: 25 Years of The Power Plant is a dynamic project designed to exhibit, activate, reconsider, and put into dialogue the gallery’s rich histories. Designed by Markus Miessen, a German architect and writer who has contributed to a larger thinking about participation in public space and design, the North Gallery will be transformed into a user-friendly space to consider the history of The Power Plant within local and international contexts, as well as within present spatial theories and concerns.
Because he straddles an interesting position between theorist and practitioner when it comes to spatial plans, and because of his work around notions of democracy, public space and archival practices, Miessen was chosen for his understanding of the scope of dealing with an institutional history at a public gallery. He was charged with designing a space that also intellectually challenges some notions of history and sparks dialogue.
Within this exhibition, visitors will have access to past publications; a rotating selection from the gallery’s VHS and DVD archives (including artist talks, conversations, interviews, special programming, and other gems); slides and transparencies on a light table; posters; invitations; and other ephemera. The materials will be contextualized within a timeline of The Power Plant’s history.
This rotating roster of displays will encourage repeat visits as the depth of the gallery archive will unfold over the course of the exhibition, which will include materials that articulate the gallery’s early years and its relationship to contemporary art in Toronto, to digital technology and to ideas of the archive itself.
Over an extended period, the space will be constantly changing in additional ways. It will also offer visitors the opportunity to see two artist projects responding to our archives, talks around The Power Plant’s history and special presentations organized around specific themes such as institutional memory, changing technologies and aesthetics, and Toronto’s contemporary art history.