An upcoming performance on January 4 (free with Gallery admission/ no tickets required) imagines the late artist experiencing her own retrospective 

What would it be like for the late artist Joyce Wieland (1930–1998) to experience the first retrospective of her work in almost 40 years?  

This is the question at the centre of a performance series taking place in the exhibition Joyce Wieland: Heart On. Currently on view at the AGO, Heart On, brings together over five decades of Wieland’s work, showcasing how she engaged with ecological devastation, the complexities of nationhood, female sexuality and feminism, among many more topics, across media. 

Commissioned for Heart On, A Fairytale for Joyce is the brainchild of Kristen Thomson, actor and playwright, and Tanja Jacobs, actress and director. In this 20-minute performance, the duo imagines Wieland’s experience visiting her exhibition, drawing from the artist’s relationship to her legacy, her work and herself. The next performance of A Fairytale for Joyce is on Sunday, January 4, 2026 (mark your new year’s calendar!)

From the initial announcement of Heart On, Jacobs and Thomson were keen to learn more about Wieland’s life; they attended dedicated study days on Wieland at the AGO and travelled to Montreal for the exhibition’s debut at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). Intimately studying Wieland’s life and art, they were struck by how she maintained her creativity and softness despite the many trials she faced throughout her life.  

“We found ourselves very moved by the amount of loss and hardship in Wieland’s life alongside her vivacious, witty, and passionate output,” Thomson remembered. “She seemed light as a feather while navigating the vicissitudes of many calamities.” 

Created through improvisation, Thomson and Jacobs spent countless conversations, improvisation sessions, and spontaneous writing prompts exploring Wieland’s works and personal life for A Fairytale for Joyce. While they explored different characters and angles, eventually they landed on the performance centring on Wieland exploring her own exhibition. They decided to frame the performance around the idea of fairytales after Jacobs created a fantastical notion of Wieland dreaming about having a small fairy daughter that could fit into one of the teacups in the work Cooling Room II (1964), which is on view in Heart On. 

The inaugural performance of A Fairytale for Joyce took place this past September. Reflecting on this performance, Thomson was pleasantly surprised at how she and Jacobs created an impactful performance despite working at a shorter length than they are typically used to.   

“The first performance of the piece was very exciting. By the time we presented the piece, we felt excited that we had a genuine offering for people attending the exhibition,” she said. “The challenge was to create something fresh that feels fully expressed and satisfying in 20 minutes. The pleasure of the piece is performing something lighthearted, playful, and short and sweet in the midst of Wieland’s work. It comes alive for us, and hopefully for audiences.” 

Join Kristen Thomson and Tanja Jacobs in paying tribute to Wieland’s art, life, and love by attending the final performance of A Fairytale for Joyce, which takes place on Sunday, January 4, on Level 5 of the AGO. This performance is free with general admission. The commission of A Fairytale for Joyce was led by Bojana Stancic, Program Curator, Performance and Live, with generous support from the Richard and Beryl Ivey Canadian Art Fund.