In 2004, we established a new context for art-making and art presentation: a frozen expansion of snow and ice falling away to an invisible horizon against a white and barren sky. In 2006, Ice Follies started to stretch out of its first skin. The artists brought to the site-specific show, new media and new areas of discourse as well as new practices and methods of art-making.

The purpose of the Ice Follies Project is to research, develop, produce and document site-specific three-dimensional, “architectural” works by Canadian (and international) contemporary artists. Again in February 2006, the Kennedy Gallery brought together artists from across Northern and Southern Ontario, from various art-making communities to create temporary public artworks that echoed or metaphorically addressed, or incorporated the idea or the reality of an ice-fishing hut. In 2006 we expanded our “reach” in terms of creative content by inviting artists from other parts of Canada to participate in the exhibit. We truly became a “national” exhibition.

With the expanded “reach” of the project came new approaches to art-making and interesting adaptations that saw new genres of 3-D visual arts being examined and exhibited. In 2006, we saw more “earth-art” influenced works, especially those created by Peter Von Tiesenhausen and Simon Frank. There was still an underlying theme of humor,  whimsy, and irony that we’d seen in 2004 with the works of FASTWÜRMS and Frank Kools, but now we had video installations displayed and highly political works that challenged our ice-walking audiences.

Although the WKP Kennedy Gallery has a long history of gallery exhibitions and participation in cultural events across the city and region, Ice Follies was a first for them. The artists chosen were asked to bring to the project their own ideas about the wilderness, architecture, our relationship to nature or lack thereof, the whimsical in public spaces, and the ironic connections between contemporary art practice and a disappearing wilderness. The artists invited to participate had also worked with structures and assemblage or within the politics of hunting.

Ice Follies worked closely with the Ministry of the Environment in North Bay to ensure that artworks were respectful of the lake and the environment and that the icy sites were returned to their original state after the three-week run of the exhibition.

Ice Follies continues to impact the City of North Bay because the pieces are almost unavoidable if one works or shops downtown, or if you use the lake as a snowmobiler or skier or walker, or even if you just drive by on Memorial Drive. And it is our hope here at the Gallery that we can continue to organize Ice Follies projects for future years; Ice Follies III is already being slated for mid-February, 2008. As we continue to expand the artistic horizons of the show (we will be going “international” in 2008) Ice Follies will focus more attention on the aesthetic beauty of our natural landscape, heighten the artist’s dialogue and development in the area and increase the “investment” North Bay resident feel with the arts. They are all, now, a part of this wonderful winter arts event.

For this second incarnation of Ice Follies, W.K.P. Kennery Gallery staff and curators were ably assisted by a small army of volunteers. We all met early in February to divide up into committees and artist teams and to just start the word-of-mouth going around the community. In 2006, Christopher Regimbal, curatorial assistant, was focused on the Ice Follies project. He assisted with media contacts, committee organization, and volunteer placement. Christopher was invaluable as a worker with the artists as well. He helped Simon Frank and Peter Von Tiesenhausen in particular. Liz Lott was, again and just as she was for Ice Follies 2004, dedicated to the show and to documenting every moment of its life upon the lake. Her green snowsuit and a little sled full of photo gear were a constant presence throughout February and March. Liz also helped to remove Simon Frank’s Hut which was a day-long battle! As in 2004, the W.K.P. Kennedy Gallery was assisted in 2006 by many individuals and businesses in North Bay and the area. Without this dedication and open-hearted generosity of spirit, effort, and time, this event could not have succeeded.

In these acknowledgments, I want to first thank the people who made this show happen. They are: Bayden Brownlee and his wife Beth (who once again drove us, hauled us, made light of the heaviest situations, and guided us out onto the ice), Dee Adrian (who always opens the doors of her stage to all try artists), the whole Kools family (who this time decided to show the arts how crazy, whacky ice huts really look like), Jean Marc Raymond (who shoveled for three days straight!) Julie Bartkiweicz, all the cast members of Ice Station Isis (Christine Charette, Liz Lott, John Weiss, Amy Wallace, Michelle Trinier, and Wanda Schild), and all the students, gallery members, community volunteers, and friends who made this event the wonder that it was. This year we also had a great deal of help from a small business neat Deep Water Bay on the south shore, J. Andrew & Daughters. This family-run business donated two fish huts to the cause and we thank them for their support and involvement in the Ice Follies phenomenon!

North Bay is a community of small businesses. The Ice Follies could not have succeeded without the help of many generous, community-spirited companies. They include Dolphin Motel & Cottage, Bunsmaster Bakery, Snapdragon Photography, Dent’s Camera Centre, Donald M. Seguin LTD. Commercial Contracting, United Rentals, Mudshark Media, The Logos Books, and Art Supplies, Solvent Magazine, National Car and Truck Rental, Michelle’s Frame Maker and Gallery, Sparrow-Brown LTD., See More Graphics, The Murdoch Group, Sofa Communications, The City of North Bay Department of Parks and Recreation and The Mayor’s Office, The Lake Nipissing Stewardship Council, the staff and volunteers of the Capitol Centre, and all of the downtown businesses that truly got into the spirit of the show.

We are also indebted to provincial and federal art and cultural funding bodies and to the City go North Bay for annual operating funding. In particular, The Canada Council for the Arts has been the major cultural sponsor for The Ice Follies since its inception. This event itself was made possible through grants from the Department of Visual Arts at the Canada Council. Please support the Canada Council for the Arts by telling your MP about this important art event. The Ontario Arts Council is the main funding body for the W.K.P. Kennedy Gallery and, as such, was also an important source of support for this site-specify project.

In closing, we would like to thank the permanent staff goes the Kennedy Gallery, Perry Trinier, Sheila Lavack and Michelle Trinier, and the Gallery Board of Directors. Chairperson, Jane Limina was a constant source of support, always a positive and cheerful supporter and true friend to the arts in her city. Board Members, Keith Campbell, Douglas Mackey, Arlie Hoffman, Christine Charette, Eileen McGowan, and Jane Bonnell worked on many different fronts to make this projects a success.