Ice Follies 2016 marked the seventh biennial of site-specific art on frozen Lake Nipissing. The theme, Ojichaagobiishin (“It reflects in water”), reflected a call to action for artists to engage with water as a life-giver and to highlight our responsibility to care for it. Co-organized by Aanmitaagzi, the Near North Mobile Media Lab, and White Water Gallery, the festival embraced the cultural and environmental significance of Nipissing territory.

Notable works included Nisidotan (Understand by Hearing) by Edgardo Moreno, which immersed visitors in curated sounds of the lake, blending with the live noise of footsteps, wind, and laughter. Serpent People by Aanmitaagzi transformed the ice into a theatrical stage with dance, storytelling, and community workshop reflections. Visitors were guided through a spiral maze of visuals and sound, culminating at a symbolic hole in the ice.

Other highlights featured Jihee Min’s A Humble Trawling, a suspended fishing net woven with hands offering water to the sky, and Meg Paulin’s The Trapper’s Cabin, a small hut featuring historical maps, images, and community stories of land use. Darren Copeland’s Fishing for Sounds workshop uncovered the hidden vibrations of the lake and its installations, while the Student Temporary Art Gallery (STAG) transformed an ice fishing hut into an intimate art space.

Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett’s The Deep Dark invited visitors to trek through glowing doorways of white light stretching over a kilometre into the frozen expanse. The cold, wind, and snow ultimately became collaborators in the festival, shaping and transforming the works over time.

Through art, performance, and community engagement, Ice Follies 2016 offered reflections on the cultural, environmental, and sensory experiences of water and winter on Lake Nipissing.