Nocturnes: Schinia Verna By Helga Jakobson
Helga Jakobson is a transdisciplinary artist living on Treaty One Territory who has exhibited and participated in residencies across Canada and Europe, and was part of the 2025 STEPS Public Art Residency.
Project at a glance
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Artists: Helga Jakobson
Documentarian: Courtesy of the Artist
Year: 2025
Services: Artist Capacity Building
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artist-in-residence
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series of performance public artworks
About Nocturnes: Schinia Verna by Helga Jakobson
For the Autumnal Equinox on September 22nd, 2025, the return of long nights was celebrated by experiencing a live performance composed by the host plants of moths. Audience members watched as moths gathered and “danced” on observation sheets in the woods between the Prairie Garden at The Forks and the Rail Bridge in Winnipeg, MB. The performance was played live through silent disco headphones, generated by a plant-playing synthesizer. The featured plants were host species for moths, particularly the endangered Schinia verna, and following the performance, they were planted in the nearby Prairie Garden to support local pollinator populations.
“After my project, I’m walking away with a new set of equipment that I’m ready to utilize and expand my practice with. It was impactful to have the opportunity to experiment in a supportive environment, and I am eager to see where this new avenue will take me. I’m thrilled to find a new and low environmental impact way of sharing my work. I feel deeply inspired and as though a new avenue is unlocked for me. I heard such incredible feedback from the over 100 people who attended, many attendees have approached me to let me know that the work was inspiring and magical.”
About the Artist
Helga Jakobson
Helga Jakobson is a transdisciplinary artist living on Treaty One Territory. In 2017, she received an MFA from AKV St. Joost (The Netherlands) and the Transdisciplinary New Media program at the Paris College of Art (France). She has exhibited and participated in residencies across Canada and Europe. She often works within the realm of new media, with a particular affinity for sound as a medium. Lately, her research has centred around the sixth mass extinction that we are living in, as well as how to live on a damaged earth and how to make tangible the almost invisible and inaudible losses that are occurring all around us.
Funders
The 2025 STEPS Public Art Residency is made possible by support from TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment.
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