Ice Follies 2025, a biennial festival of contemporary and community-engaged art, returns for its 11th edition from February 7 to 21 and has announced a list of participating artists.
This year’s festival explores the theme Ozhaashikwaa (The Ice is Slippery), "reflecting on resilience and the challenges of navigating uncertain terrain," says a news release.
The festival, on Lake Nipissing and for the first time. Trout Lake, is free to attend and open 24/7, offering visitors the chance to explore stunning installations in the unique interplay of light and ice.
See: Ice Follies is back and expanding its footprint
"This year’s festival showcases an exceptional lineup of local and regional artists, each bringing their unique vision and creative expression to Ice Follies 2025," says a release. "Their works, ranging from large-scale installations to immersive performances, deeply engage with Northern landscapes and cultural narratives."
Artists will present their pieces at Shabogesic Beach on Lake Nipissing, Olmstead Beach on Trout Lake, and downtown North Bay, "transforming these spaces into living, evolving galleries that connect audiences with the power of contemporary art."
Featured Artists by Location
Shabogesic Beach (Lake Nipissing): Outdoor Installations & Performances on the Ice
● Aanmitaagzi: All My R(el)ations – A powerful opening night performance (Feb 7) and activation of their installations, exploring our connections to water, ancestors, and community.
● Andrew Ackerman: Fire and Flood – A striking blackened house-like sculpture, illuminated from within, reflecting on humanity’s fragile relationship with nature.
● David Chops: A Spectrum of Interconnected Cooperation – A participatory installation with illuminated trees and reflective cubes, inviting contributions by visitors.
● Anyse Ducharme: The Water Was a Sheet of Glass – A site-specific installation featuring AI-generated voices reciting hashtags, highlighting the tension between digital and lived experiences.
● Nico Glaude: Sign Language – Monoliths adorned with hand-painted signs, reflecting themes of resilience, personal growth, and memory.
● Studio Nude Beach: Beastie Bones – A glowing ribcage-like installation blending folklore and dynamic decay, symbolizing nature’s ephemeral beauty.
Downtown North Bay: Photographic Reflections on Ice Follies’ Legacy
● Liz Lott: Frozen Frames – An Ice Follies Retrospective – A photographic exhibition at WKP Kennedy Gallery, showcasing one image from every participating artist since 2004, celebrating two decades of creativity.
Olmstead Beach (Trout Lake): Sound & Light Interventions – Feb 15 & 16 from 7 PM and 9PM
● Hyperboreal (Dermot Wilson & Jason Brock): Ice Shifts/Elevations – A mesmerizing audio-visual performance of synchronized electronic music and video projections on the misty icy lake.
● New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) with Lina Choi, Stephanie Dupuis, Genevieve Kiessling, Shaughn Martel and Kyle Vanderlaan: Ice Sounds – Compositions of ice-recorded soundscapes from Lake Nipissing and Trout Lake, combined with texts.
