Lisa Anita Wegner Longlisted for Johnny Depp’s The People’s Artist

Haus of Dada is pleased to announce that their artist-in-residence Lisa Anita Wegner has been longlisted for the People’s Art Award.

The People’s Art Award is presented by Johnny Depp, partnered with Artforum Magazine and benefiting The Art of Elysium. This longlist was selected by a judging panel from of over 16,280 entries from all over North America. Voting runs Monday, May 4 through Thursday, May 14, 2026, following which a short list of 20 artists will be announced.

Time Travel performance at Long Winter Arts. Video still courtesy of the artist.

Wegner and the other longlisted artists are eligible to win $25,000 USD, be featured in Artforum Magazine, and display their work at The Art of Elysium’s Salon, hosted by Johnny Depp, Fall 2026, in Los Angeles, California.

The People’s Artist is chosen 100% by audience vote and Wegner prefers real life to Social Media. Haus of Dada asks for your help. Please take a moment to vote for Lisa Anita Wegner to be The People’s Artist and for her to have an iteration of Elsewhere presented at The Art of Elysium’s Salon.

Wegner is a filmmaker, performer and artist based in Toronto, Canada. For almost two decades, she has been making the mundane world marvelous through shared moments of extra-ordinary time. She crafts accessible, immersive, multi-sensory public art installations. Her experience living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome shapes her artistic ethos, and her vast body of astonishing work attests to her daily commitment to her practice. View Lisa Anita Wegner’s Artist Demo 2026.

Wegner’s current project Elsewhere is a perfect match for The Art of Elysium and a feature in Artforum. Partnered with Eric Rose, Multi-Sensory Specialist from Calgary Alberta, and headed by Cultural Producer Alison Wong, this work is mature, poised, and ready for the world stage.

Walk Through Portals at Roncy Rocks Street Festival. Video still courtesy of the artist.

Elsewhere tells the story of a fictional 1930s performance cabaret troupe—the Dada Family—suspended outside of linear time, accessed via a Time-Space Portal. The work explores themes of altered embodiment, otherworldliness, play, and connection through constraints. Elsewhere is at once deeply personal and radically inclusive, approaching accessibility as an evolving engine of creativity in which every design choice is shaped by the question, “Who gets to be part of this experience, and how?” View a video preview of Elsewhere.

Previous iterations of this project have circulated in Toronto as part of Nuit Blanche Toronto’s all night Contemporary Art Festival, Rendezvous With Madness Festival, Long Winter Arts Festival, and ArtworxTO, with funding from Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, The City of Toronto, Partners in Art, and The National Creation Fund.

For more information about Lisa Anita Wegner or Elsewhere, please contact Kermit at Haus of Dada: kermit@mightybraveproductions.com

Intangible Adorations Headliner at Rendezvous with Madness Festival. Rehearsal shot courtesy of the artist.

Since 1962, Artforum Magazine has stood as the definitive magazine on modern and contemporary art, shaping critical discourse and spotlighting artists whose work influences museums, institutions, collectors, and cultural conversations around the world.

The Art of Elysium uses creativity as a catalyst for healing and connection. Since 1997, the organization has empowered artists and communities through tailor-made art programs designed to help people overcome social and emotional challenges.

Lisa Anita Wegner
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647 895 0193
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Image Descriptions:
1. A blue video projection over Wegner performing as Mama Dada. Wearing a metallic silver headdress, dark lipstick and holding two mirror balls on staffs and looking toward the camera with eyes slightly downward.
2. A dark area is enticingly lit by multiple eerie blue projections. Whipping wind throws the mesh curtains almost horizontally across the image. A mirror ball is frozen in time, rotating on a lazy Susan throwing light across the floor.
3. A mysterious human figure is seated on a wooden throne in a chapel with blue walls and carpet. With all visible skin covered in a morph suit, the blank figure is wearing floor length black robe with black boots, a black leather skullcap with a tall transparent crown on their head. They have one foot slightly forward, both arms on the armrests and their gaze is cast downward.
4. A black and white stark image with the words Haus of Dada in a handwritten 1920s font. Logo design by Pink Moth.