Digital Art Takes Centre Stage this Fall at the AGSM

The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba is proud to announce the opening of a new
exhibition featuring five professional artists from Manitoba, as well as a selection of work by the Assiniboine Community College (ACC) Digital Art and Design Program Class of 2023. The exhibition, titled Oneirophyte, will be on display in the AGSM Main Gallery from September 21 to November 11, 2023.

Lucie Lederhendler, the exhibition’s curator, explains the central theme of the exhibition arose from her interest in the state of Digital Arts in Manitoba. “Since I joined the AGSM in January 2021,” she says, “I noticed a lot of real excitement surrounding the potential of, and the desire for, more digital infrastructure here in Westman.” Lederhendler references an increase in the AGSM’s digital content, the inauguration of the Centre for Creative Media at ACC this past January, and the WestmAnimation and Open Circuits festivals, which are both set to return this Autumn.

The concept for Oneirophyte emerged because there was a substantial amount of digital art being created in Manitoba that talked about plants in a personal, or spiritual way. The title of the exhibition combines the Greek roots for “dream” and “plant,” which speaks to this interest. The exhibition’s artists are Helga Jakobson, Casey Koyczan, Erika Jean Lincoln, Sylvia Matas, and Taylor McArthur, who use artificial intelligence, 3-D scanning technologies, and game design that allows visitors to listen to, think like, and immerse themselves in plants. The ACC Digital Art class of 2023 was given a preview of the exhibition and asked to respond to the premise in their own way, and produced conceptual designs in 3-D models, video, and graphic illustration and design.

An opening reception with several artists present will be held on September 21 at 7 PM. A “Lunch & Look” guided tour will take place on September 22 at 1 PM. Additional digital programming, supported by the Open Circuits Festival and the WestmAnimation festival, will include talks, workshops, and screenings that will be announced via the AGSM’s social media.

The AGSM would like to thank the Manitoba Arts Council, the City of Brandon, and the Canada Council for the Arts, for their continued support of the Gallery’s programming. The Manitoba Arts Council is also a supporter of the WestmAnimation festival. Thanks to the Province of Manitoba for its support of the Open Circuits and WestmAnimation Festivals.