In conversation with Lodoe Laura, artist Annie Macdonell discusses her recent exhibition “The Beyond Within,” which delves into the history of psychedelic therapy. She explores her collaborative films with Maïder Fortuné and the historical ripples that help us read our fractured moment, sustaining an uncynical belief in art even as its institutions falter.
Annie MacDonell
Annie MacDonell is a visual artist working in film, photography and installation. Recent shows include “Interior Life” at 272 Gallery in Toronto, and “Shadow Vision,” with Maïder Fortuné, at Dazibao in Montreal. “One Equal Light,” her new film made with Maïder Fortuné, will premiere at Cinema du Réel in Paris in March 2026 and their other collaborative films will be screened at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in April 2026. She lives in Toronto with her family, and teaches at TMU’s School of Image Arts.
Coming together for the first time in my tenure without a prompt, the following issue nonetheless feels as though it is circling something specific, even if that something is difficult to name.