LOCAL, ROVING ROSEMARY GALLERY'S WARMING HUT TAKES TO THE FROZEN RIVER AS INVITED ARTISTS!
Local artists and curators Jaimie Isaac and Suzanne Morrissette – Co-Directors of the roving ROSEMARY Gallery – are the invited artists for this year’s Warming Huts competition.
Their warming hut design, ROSEMARY Skool, has been unveiled along with five other new warming huts that will line the Nestaweya River Trail this winter.
“After seeing ROSEMARY Gallery’s inaugural exhibition ‘Confluence,’ a deeply meaningful and stunning commentary and reflection on the challenges and priorities in our community centred around our rivers, it made perfect sense to invite Jaimie and Suzanne to be part of this year’s Warming Huts,” says Sara Stasiuk, President and CEO, The Forks North Portage. “Their vision to be a gallery that responds to the needs of the community aligns so well with The Forks mandate to be a gathering place for everyone.”
ROSEMARY Skool is intended to not only be a visual piece to admire on the river trail, but also a location for programming and events.
“We have a great list of arts-based projects, performances, and public discussions, plus a community feast and other celebrations that will all take place in and around ROSEMARY Skool,” says Jaimie Isaac, Co-Director, ROSEMARY Gallery.
The hut will represent a birchbark basket and will be built of snow and bricks formed from clay gathered from the river.
“The organic materials used to build the hut will return to the river with the spring melt, as an ephemeral evolution,” says Suzanne Morrissette, Co-Director, ROSEMARY Gallery.
ROSEMARY Skool will be joined by five other new warming huts. The designs of the new huts represent fun and warmth, while also speaking to issues such as climate change and homelessness, with designs ranging from a colourful grain elevator, to a balled-up beaver, to a half sunken car, and from a single-person home, to a gift wrapped with a bow.
This year’s three competition winners are Pom Pom designed by Haoran Deng and Bicen Song (Hong Kong); Prairie Castle by Nick Green and Greig Pirri (Scotland); and Wrong Turn designed by the returning team of Christopher Loofs, Jordan Loops, and Kaci Marshall (Okhahoma, USA). The three competition winners were selected from over 140 submissions, with every submission being reviewed anonymously by a jury made up of founding members, community jurors, and a student guest juror. A full day is spent reviewing the different designs and selecting the winners.
Building upon the great success and experience of the school program over the past two years, the call again went out to all schools in Manitoba to enter the competition this year. This year’s selected school is the MET Exchange School grade 10 class with their submission, The Present.
Students from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture annually design a Warming Hut, and this year their creation is Prototype Home. This project represents a single-person transitional housing unit and is being created in partnership with St. Boniface Street Links, a social development organization that works to reduce poverty and end homelessness.
All six Warming Hut designs have been unveiled throughout the month of December on The Forks’ social media accounts and blog.
Build week for Warming Huts v.2025 will take place at the end of January, with the winning teams gathering to bring their designs to life and connect with each other and the community.
ROSEMARY Skool | Invited artists, Jaimie Isaac and Suzanne Morrissette of ROSEMARY Gallery Inspired by a birchbark basket and built with snow and river-sourced clay bricks, ROSEMARY Skool is both a visual statement and a hub for arts, performances, and community events. With its organic design returning to the earth in spring, it celebrates connection, creativity, and the beauty of nature's cycle.
PROTOTYPE HOME | University of Manitoba, Faculty of Architecture
Each year, students from the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Architectures design a warming hut for the Nestaweya River Trail. This year’s Prototype Home represents a single-person transitional housing unit, addressing homelessness in Winnipeg. Created with St. Boniface Street Links, it blends innovation with compassion.
THE PRESENT | Grade 10 Students and Teachers from Exchange Met School
Step inside this oversized gift, and be surrounded by cozy memories and sensations! Softly tinted lights, the comforting aroma of hot chocolate and evergreen, and the inviting warmth of shared stories. Inside, you'll find thoughtful touches like books, a tree, and objects that evoke the magic of winter.
PRAIRIE CASTLE | Nick Green and Greig Pirri
Prairie Castle will be a colourful beacon, that mixes the distinctive design of a Manitoba grain elevator with colours and inspirations from Scottish castles.
POM POM | Haoran Deng and Bicen Song
Pom Pom's cute and fluffy-like shappe is inspired by the way a beaver wraps its tail around its body to create a cozy ball of warmth.Crafted with locally sourced materials to mimic its fleecy texture, Pom Pom will invite trail users to come inside and enjoy a functional yet artistic shelter.
WRONG TURN | Christopher Loofs, Kaci Marshall, and Jordan Loofs, of UnearthedPractice
This playful and satirical design features a toy-like Acadian car, half-sunk through thin ice - a striking visual metaphor for climate change. A step inside offers shelter from the cold and is complete with two seats to rest before River Trail advenuterers continue their journey on the ice.
Stay tuned as we unveil the other incredible designs in this year’s Warming Hut designs!