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After seven years, [Power Ball](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/calendar/power-ball-2026) returns with The 7-Year Itch. Join us on September 17 for the comeback Toronto's been craving!

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_The Power Plant unveils an ambitious season featuring solo exhibitions by Zadie Xa with Benito Mayor Vallejo, and by Sharon Lockhart, with an accompanying film program, as well as the long-awaited return of its iconic fundraiser_

This fall, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery launches a new season of contemporary art, bringing together internationally acclaimed artists, immersive installations, moving image, and one of Toronto's most anticipated cultural celebrations. Beginning with the long-awaited return of Power Ball on September 17 after a seven-year hiatus, the season continues with two major exhibitions by Zadie Xa with Benito Mayor Vallejo, and Sharon Lockhart, alongside a program of recent moving image works that expands on the season’s themes. 

Together, the Fall 2026 season reflects The Power Plant's commitment to presenting ambitious contemporary art that connects local and global conversations while creating meaningful opportunities for audiences to experience art through exhibitions, film, public programs, and a fundraising art party. 

_"The Fall 2026 season brings together distinct artistic visions that are connected through shared questions of place, identity, and belonging,"_ said Adelina Vlas, Artistic Director at The Power Plant. _"Across these exhibitions, artists explore the boundaries of their respective mediums while engaging with subjects such as migration, memory, and our evolving relationship with the world around us."_

**Power Ball Returns** 

The Fall 2026 season begins on September 17 with the long-awaited return of Power Ball, The Power Plant's signature fundraising event and one of Toronto's most anticipated contemporary art experiences. 

After a seven-year hiatus, Power Ball: The 7-Year Itch transforms the entire gallery into a one-night-only exhibition, where immersive artist installations, live performances, experimental music, and unexpected encounters take over every corner of the building. The event invites guests to experience The Power Plant like never before while directly supporting the gallery's ambitious exhibitions and free public programming. 


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This year's edition features newly commissioned artists’ projects by Rah Eleh, Ella Gonzales, and Sami Tsang, alongside a dynamic lineup of live music and performances from Colin Fisher + Kieran Adams, EGYPTRIXX, Imaginary Percussion Ensemble, Invisible City, Milch, Karim Olen Ash & Phillippe, Shaghayegh Bagheri + Kasra Faridi, TEENO, TONY PRICE, and Vjollça. Music and performance programming is curated by Power Ball Committee Member Malcolm Levy in collaboration with Standard Time. 

Co-chaired by Victoria Webster and David Palumbo.  

**[Tickets are now on sale.](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/calendar/power-ball-2026)**

**Sharon Lockhart: _Fogo_** 

The Power Plant, in partnership with The Vega Foundation, is proud to present _Fogo_, a solo exhibition of work by the internationally acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist Sharon Lockhart that was made over the course of four summers on Newfoundland’s Fogo Island. The exhibition consists of a series of photographs, collectively entitled _Fogo Island Portrait Studio_, that pictures the island’s young residents, alongside _WINDWARD_, a film installation featuring the same protagonists that brings to life the island’s striking geological formations, unique climate, and austere beauty. These works build on core themes that have continued to define Lockhart’s career: an exploration of place, a durational approach to attention, and a long-term commitment to those who appear before her lens.  

_WINDWARD_ is co-commissioned and co-produced by Shorefast/Fogo Island Arts, The Vega Foundation, and the National Gallery of Canada, with the support of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. 

The tour of this exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts. 


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**Zadie Xa with Benito Mayor Vallejo: _Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything_**  

The Power Plant presents the first major solo exhibition in Toronto by Vancouver-born, UK-based artist Zadie Xa, created together with longtime collaborator, artist Benito Mayor Vallejo. 
An immersive installation that responds to the specific context of The Power Plant, the exhibition combines new and existing works, including paintings by Xa, murals, sound, and a mobile sculpture made of over 600 brass bells, suspended from the gallery’s ceiling in the shape of a conch shell, co-created by Xa together with Mayor Vallejo. Visitors will experience a vibrant, multi-sensory environment that connects the artists’ ongoing exploration of storytelling, Korean mythology, folklore, diasporic identity, and marine ecology to the shores of Lake Ontario.  

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_Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything_ is organized and developed in partnership with Esker Foundation, Calgary, where it is on view from May 23 to August 23, 2026, and PHI, Montréal, where it will be on view from April 29 to September 12, 2027. 

The Power Plant gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Partners in Art; and recognizes Armstrong Fine Art Services as the exhibition's Shipping and Logistics Partner. We acknowledge the Canada Council for the Arts for its support of the tour of this exhibition. 

**_Owner of a Lonely Heart_, Film Program**

_Owner of a Lonely Heart_ is a program of moving image works curated to complement the exhibition season, presented in partnership with The Vega Foundation. 

Featuring recent works by Haig Aivazian, Stephanie Comilang, Alia Farid, Hope Pearl Strickland, and Yuyan Wang, the program transforms The Power Plant's second-floor gallery into a theatre where the  80-minute program loops continuously. This program explores entanglement as a condition of contemporary life. The artists' works frame dense webs of relations linking raw materials, labourers, and ecosystems into global economies.

**About The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery** 

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to contemporary art, ideas, and conversations. Located on Toronto’s waterfront, The Power Plant is a vital forum for the creative culture of our time, sharing inspiring and transformative experiences with audiences through free admission to exhibitions and public programs. The Power Plant is guided by the commitment to provide a platform for artists from diverse backgrounds, drawing attention to pressing issues and connecting communities in Canada and worldwide through contemporary art. For more information, please visit thepowerplant.org. 


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The Power Plant Launches Its Fall 2026 Season With Two Exhibitions, A Film Program, And The Return Of Power Ball

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to announce the inaugural presentation of a new series of public talks, **Connectors: International Speakers Series**, that continues the gallery’s engagement with visionary thinkers from around the world. Its previous iteration, the International Lecture Series, ran from 2006 to 2018 and included speakers such as Mark Bradford, Mona Hatoum, Julie Mehretu, Valerie Cassel Oliver, Jolene Rickard, Ralph Rugoff, and Michael Snow, among many others. Connectors will strive to spotlight critical perspectives of artists, curators and scholars shaping contemporary art. This series of talks aligns with The Power Plant’s mission, which is dedicated to creating spaces for conversation amongst diverse communities by engaging with contemporary art and ideas.


The Power Plant is thrilled to present Canadian curator Kitty Scott as the inaugural speaker of the Connectors series. On March 27, 2026, we invite you to join Scott for an illuminating lecture on the making of _Does the flower hear the bee?_ (November 8, 2025-March 31, 2026) her acclaimed exhibition at Shanghai’s Power Station of Art as part of the 15th Shanghai Biennale. Scott’s presentation will provide an inside look at the ideas, collaborations, and curatorial strategies that shaped The Biennale—an ambitious exploration of the mutual dependencies between art, the environment, and human perception. 

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**About the Speaker**

Kitty Scott is a leading Canadian curator, writer, and senior arts administrator whose work spans major art institutions and international exhibitions. She is known for shaping contemporary art discourse through ambitious programming and sustained collaborations with artists. Currently, Scott is Strategic Director of Fogo Island Arts and this past year, as Chief Curator of the 15th Shanghai Biennale, she recently presented, _Does the flower hear the bee?_ at the Power Station of Art, Shanghai. Scott has held key curatorial posts including Curator of Contemporary Art and later Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. She also served as the Carol and Morton Rapp Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Previously, she was Chief Curator at London’s Serpentine Gallery and Director of Visual Arts at The Banff Centre, where she oversaw residencies, exhibitions, and the Banff International Curatorial Institute. Scott was a core agent for dOCUMENTA (13) in 2012. With Sally Tallant she co-curated the 2018 Liverpool Biennial, _Beautiful world, where are you?_ She curated Geoffrey Farmer’s exhibition for the Canada Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017). Across these roles she has championed a wide range of contemporary artists while publishing extensively in catalogues, books, and journals.


**About the Event**

- **Connectors: International Speakers Series – Kitty Scott**
- **Friday, March 27, 2026**
- Doors open at 5:30 PM, talk begins at 6 PM.
- The event is free, but registration is required due to limited capacity. To register, please visit the [website](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/calendar/connectors-international-speakers-series-kitty-scott).

**About The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery**

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to contemporary art, ideas, and conversations. Located at Harbourfront Centre on Toronto’s waterfront, The Power Plant is a vital forum for the creative culture of our time, sharing inspiring and transformative experiences with audiences through free admission to exhibitions and public programs. The Power Plant is guided by the commitment to provide a platform for artists from diverse backgrounds, drawing attention to pressing issues and connecting communities in Canada and worldwide through contemporary art. For more information, please visit [thepowerplant.org](thepowerplant.org).

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The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery Announces a New Series of Public Talks

_A fun, interactive exhibition for all ages opens April 25 in Toronto with free admission_

What do we want the future to look like? What if we ask the children what they want?

This spring, **The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery** invites visitors to freely interact with the artworks in **_Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play_**, a participatory new exhibition opening April 25, 2026.

Bringing together ten artists from Canada and around the world, _Colourful Parachutes_ transforms the gallery into an engaging, hands-on environment where visitors of all ages are encouraged to interact with the art. Designed with young audiences in mind, but just as inviting for adults, the exhibition reimagines what a gallery can be, and what’s possible for the collective future when creativity is put into action.

_“Colourful Parachutes is for audiences of all ages, while foregrounding children’s potential as creative agents and future-makers,”_ says **Adelina Vlas**, Artistic Director of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. “By centering play as a critically creative force, the exhibition reconsiders how imagination, as well as care and responsibility for the future can be shaped in and beyond the gallery.”

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**Art You Can Actually Play With**

_Colourful Parachutes_ asks younger generations to think about what kind of future they imagine for themselves and positions creativity as a powerful tool for shaping it.

- Climb, swing, and move through Lagos-based artist **Temitayo Ogunbiyi’s** interactive sculpture
- Experiment with natural materials in a hands-on environment by Montreal duo **Leisure (Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley)**
- Step into **Harold Offeh’s** The Mothership Collective 2.0 (2025), a vibrant space for people to come together, play, experiment with sound and text, and consider their version of a speculative future
- Enter dream.lab (2024–25) by Brazilian artist **Rivane Neuenschwander**, an interactive shadow booth designed in collaboration with children, which prompts reflection on how the world of dreams might allow us to tap into our hidden hopes and fears
- Participate in the erasure of a large-scale graphite mural of the Athabasca Glacier by Toronto artist **Claire Greenshaw’s**, while gradually reshaping the image over time

For a more reflective moment:

- Experience a large-scale, site-specific work by South African artist **Robin Rhode**, created with children using oversized crayons, turning the gallery into a hand-drawn waterscape
- Discover stop-motion films by **Sassa Linklater** and **Tobias Linklater** (Omaskêko Ininiwak and Sugpiaq), created when they were children. The videos offer touching reflections on the meaning of treaty relations, and travel across land and through water to enter past and future worlds
- Watch the Cuban American artist and educator **Ana Mendieta**’s Parachute (1973), which captures the joy of a group of children playing the parachute game in a playground, echoing the spirit of the exhibition

**Big Ideas, Made Accessible**

Building on a legacy of radical, interactive art, dating back to Palle Nielsen’s 1968 transformation of a museum into an adventure playground, _Colourful Parachutes_ reimagines the gallery as a space shaped by its visitors.

Through playful, participatory works, the exhibition explores:

- Climate anxiety and environmental awareness
- How to give young audiences agency and a voice in shaping their own future
- The importance of connecting with nature from a young age
- The power of imagination, collaboration, and collective action

**_Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play_ is supported by TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment.**

**_Colourful Parachute_ artists include:** Claire Greenshaw (Canada), Leisure (Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley) (Canada), Sassa Linklater (Canada), Tobias Linklater (Canada), Ana Mendieta (Cuba/United States), Rivane Neuenschwander (Brazil), Harold Offeh (United Kingdom), Temitayo Ogunbiyi (United States/Nigeria), and Robin Rhode (South Africa/Germany).

**About The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery**

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to contemporary art, ideas, and conversations. Located at Harbourfront Centre on Toronto’s waterfront, The Power Plant is a vital forum for the creative culture of our time, sharing inspiring and transformative experiences with
audiences through free admission to exhibitions and public programs. The Power Plant is guided by the commitment to provide a platform for artists from diverse backgrounds, drawing attention to pressing issues and connecting communities in Canada and worldwide through contemporary art. For more information, please visit thepowerplant.org.

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Colourful Parachutes Opens at The Power Plant, Inviting Playful Interaction

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Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to contemporary art, ideas, and conversations.

Welcome to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

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Give the gift of art

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We invite kids ages 7-12 and their families for an exciting creative Power Kids workshop, Picture Gardens!

Using digital cameras, families will create imaginative nature photography collages inspired by the work _Chrysalis and Butterfly_ by the artist collective Leisure.  Participants will explore natural lighting, foliage, and storytelling through photography, expressing how they see the world around them in creative ways.

**Plan Your Visit**
- For ages 7–12 (younger or older siblings welcome) 
- Wear comfortable, art-friendly clothing 
- Parents or guardians must stay with their child 
- Bring a bag or container to take creations home 
- Registration opens 5 weeks before the event

**Location**
- Meet at the front of the gallery 
- Artmaking on the second floor

Power Kids

Leisure is a collaborative art practice founded in 2004 by Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley.

Leisure (Meredith Carruthers, b. 1975 in St Catharines, CA, and Susannah Wesley, b. 1976 in Simcoe, CA; live and work in Montreal, CA) is a collaborative art practice founded in 2004 by Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley. Their research-based practice explores subjects such as feminist cultural history, working in friendship, and children’s right to creativity—particularly as an antidote to climate anxiety. They have held solo exhibitions at Optica, Montreal (2025); Oakville Galleries, Oakville, ON (2023–24); and at Musée d’art de Joliette, Quebec (2018–19). Carruthers and Wesley are currently working on a precedent- setting collaborative PhD at Concordia University in Montreal. 

Power Kids takes place on select Sundays throughout our exhibition seasons and includes a guided tour in or outside the gallery followed by a short creative activity. Each workshop is different, so kids can return throughout the season and be inspired every time.

Power Kids is a series of free creative workshops for children aged 7–12, led by skilled and dynamic artist-educators and inspired by our current exhibitions.


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Power Kids: Picture Gardens

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### Woven Emotions: Art as Therapy Workshop

Join us for an afternoon of imagination, creativity, and collaborative art-making inspired by the exhibition _[Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/colourful-parachutes-imagining-alternative-futures-through-the-power-of-play)_. 

This drop-in, all-ages workshop runs from 2 PM–5 PM. Participants are welcome to join at any time during the session and can expect to spend approximately 1–1.5 hours exploring the activities.

Led by artist Alex Warrender, invites participants to slow down, reflect, share stories, and explore alternative futures through guided, hands-on activities. Supported by art educators and art therapists, participants will engage with the complexities of imagining future worlds while expressing their emotions, ideas, and inspirations through creative play. 

Together, we will create woven paper artworks and contribute to a collaborative mural, using visual art to explore our individual experiences, collective hopes, and visions for the future. 

Please wear comfortable, art-friendly clothing; all materials will be provided. Children must be accompanied by their guardians. 

**Alex Warrender** is an artist, art educator, and art therapy student who's interested in the integration of therapeutic art, art for social change, and traditional fine art practices. She works with galleries, institutions, and public spaces across the city to facilitate art-making as a tool for deepening curiosity, imagination, and agency. 

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Power Of Play: Creative Explorations

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We invite kids ages 7-12 and their families for an exciting creative Power Kids workshop, Shapes and Shadows!

Taking inspiration from Rivane Neuenschwander’s _Dream.Lab_, participants will explore the imaginary places their minds take them to when sleeping or daydreaming. Using imagination to explore their inner worlds, participants will play with light and shadow to create two-dimensional representations of their dreams that come to life through artmaking. 

Rivane Neuenschwander’s participatory works are made in collaboration with the viewer and involve a combination of games, experiments, and spontaneous and participatory actions.

Rivane Neuenschwander’s (b. 1967 in Belo Horizonte, BR; lives and works in São Paulo, BR) participatory works are made in collaboration with the viewer and involve a combination of games, experiments, and spontaneous and participatory actions. Her works are shaped by an interest in language, nature, geography, time, and social interactions, and how these processes are connected. Her work has been shown in major arts organisations internationally, including: Instituto Inhotim, Brumadinho Minas Gerais, BR (2024–26); Instituto Cultural Itaú, São Paulo (2024–25); Kinder Kunst Labor, St. Pölten, AT (2024–25); Serralves Foundation, Porto, PT (2022–23); Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, LI (2021–22); Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (2015); São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (2014); Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2011–12); Mälmo Konstall, SE (2010); and the New Museum, New York (2010). 

 

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Power Kids: Shapes and Shadows

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### Futures in Motion: Art as Therapy Workshop

Join us for an afternoon of imagination, creativity, and collaborative art-making inspired by the exhibition _[Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play](https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/colourful-parachutes-imagining-alternative-futures-through-the-power-of-play)_. 

This drop-in workshop, designed for participants **ages 10 and up**, runs from 2 PM–5 PM. Participants are welcome to join at any time during the session and can expect to spend approximately 1–1.5 hours exploring the activities. 

Led by artist Alex Warrender, invites participants to slow down, share stories, and collaboratively imagine alternative futures through guided creative activities. Supported by art educators and art therapists, participants will explore the complexities of envisioning the future while expressing their emotions, ideas, and aspirations through artistic play.

Using a variety of materials, each participant will create a unique hanging mobile that reflects their hopes, possibilities, and personal vision of the world they wish to inhabit. 

Please wear comfortable, art-friendly clothing; all materials will be provided. Children must be accompanied by their guardians. 

**Alex Warrender** is an artist, art educator, and art therapy student who's interested in the integration of therapeutic art, art for social change, and traditional fine art practices. She works with galleries, institutions, and public spaces across the city to facilitate art-making as a tool for deepening curiosity, imagination, and agency.

The Power Plant

Welcome to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

Now On View

Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play

South Facade Billboard: Christina Leslie

Upcoming Events

Power Kids: Picture Gardens

Power Of Play: Creative Explorations

Power Kids: Shapes and Shadows

Power Of Play: Creative Explorations

Give the gift of art

Discover The Power Plant Archives

About The Power Plant

News

The Power Plant Launches Its Fall 2026 Season With Two Exhibitions, A Film Program, And The Return Of Power Ball

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery Announces a New Series of Public Talks

Colourful Parachutes Opens at The Power Plant, Inviting Playful Interaction

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