Devotion to the Unseen
From the dream logic of the Haus of Dada rose Intangible Adorations — a five-year cycle of performances, installations, and social experiments exploring love, attention, and transformation through ritual. It was a devotional practice to the unseen — an experiment in collective tenderness.
In these works, "adoration" meant attention given without demand. The installation was built around portals of invitation rather than spectacle: soft light, immersive projection, quiet conversation with the performers. Each visitor was free to linger, rest, or leave — participation became its own performance.
The cinematic fragments were mostly filmed at Haus of Dada — the micro-nation in a Toronto house transformed into a shrine, scented with bergamot, filled with light, wind from multiple fans, and heat from projectors. The audience became acolytes of perception; their presence completed the work.
"The work was filmed and lived simultaneously; no take could ever be repeated because the experience itself altered everyone in the room."
Works & Fragments
The Mythology of Unworldly and Intangible Adorations 2018. Presenting partner Long Winter Arts — for Nerve Endings: Closing Night Party Rendezvous with Madness Festival. Curated by Justina Zatzman for Workman Arts. Presented with Forever Epic Films. Funded by Ontario Arts Council, Workman Arts, Tangled Art + Disability and A Space Gallery.
Intangible Adorations: The Icon Experience Social Experiment 2019. Commissioned by Toronto Fringe Festival Post Script Patio curated by Sean Lee. Directed by Scott White. Funded by Toronto Fringe Festival and various Ontario Arts Council Grants.
Intangible Adorations: Experience The Icon 2019. Headliner at Rendezvous with Madness Festival, community partner Summerworks curated by Kelly Straughn for Workman Arts. Directed by Scott White. Presented with Forever Epic Films. Funding from Workman Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. workmanarts.com
#GetMad Rendezvous with Madness Artist Talk and Q&A. October 19th 2019. A 60 minute discussion of Intangible Adorations with creator and performer Lisa Anita Wegner and collaborator Scott White. Moderated by Lisa McKeown.
Did You Get an Adoration in the Mail? 2020. A Pandemic Mail Project of 17 anonymous packages sent to international artists who are adored by Haus of Dada.
Intangible Adorations: The Icon Rises 2020. Live 8 minute performance at the North York Public Library. Presented by and funded by North York Arts and Tangled Art + Disability.
Intangible Adorations Caravan 2022. Supported by ArtworxTO, Summerworks Festival, Etobicoke Arts, Workman Arts, Neilson Park Creative Centre, North York Arts, Urban Arts, Artscape Weston Arts, The Brickworks, The Theatre Centre. Funded by Canada Council For the Arts, The City of Toronto, Ontario Arts Council, Partners In Art and The National Creation Fund.
Press
- Materials For Creation 2023 A book by Sarah Conn and Sarah Garton-Stanley mentioning their investment into Intangible Adorations Caravan, featuring images of Wegner and Sage Lovell of Deaf Spectrum. National Arts Centre.
- Canvas Rebel Magazine 2023 Meet Lisa Anita Wegner — Canvas Rebel.
- Caravan TV News Piece 2022 Television news coverage of Intangible Adorations Caravan.
- Interview with Screen Fish 2022 In-depth interview with Lisa Anita Wegner on Screen Fish.
- My Gay Toronto Review of Caravan 2022 My Gay Toronto reviews Intangible Adorations Caravan.
- Broadway World 2019 — The Icon Experience at Toronto Fringe Celebrities In Disguise Perform At The Toronto Fringe In The Icon Experience.
- Broadway World 2019 — Intangible Adorations Preview Celebrities In Disguise Tackle Mental Health In Intangible Adorations: Experience The Icon.
- Broadway World 2019 — Intangible Adorations Reveal Deep Secrets Photo Flash: Celebrities In Disguise Reveal Deep Secrets In Intangible Adorations.
- Life With More Cowbell 2019 — Experience The Icon Review A Brush with Celebrity in the Electric, Tantalizing, Surprising Intangible Adorations: Experience The Icon.