INSITU at 10: Mississauga Volunteers Powering a Culture of Care and Reuse

As INSITU marks its 10th anniversary in Mississauga, this year’s milestone shifts the focus beyond performance and installation — offering a closer look at the people and values that sustain the work behind the scenes.

Presented by CreativeHub 1352, INSITU has, since 2016, transformed Mississauga’s Small Arms Inspection Building into an immersive, multi-arts environment. Behind that public-facing experience is an intentional approach shaped by co-curators Heather Snell and Jill Hollingsworth, and carried forward by a dedicated network of volunteers.

This year’s programming reflects a clear idea: art-making is not only about what is created, but how it is created — through care for materials, community, and the spaces involved.

Volunteers of varying ages and backgrounds support the build, installation, and execution of INSITU. For some, it is an entry point into the arts. For others, it is an ongoing commitment to a project that continues to evolve. Across both, there is a shared focus on contributing to something collective.

That contribution is most visible during the installation process.

Volunteers work alongside artists and collaborators to construct, assemble, and prepare the space. Structures are built, adjusted, and refined in real time, shaping the environment audiences will later move through.

What might typically remain behind the scenes becomes central to how the work comes together.

A defining part of this process is how materials are handled.

Rather than being treated as disposable, set pieces and components are designed with reuse in mind. Cardboard, wood, and structural elements are repurposed across installations, carried forward into future activations, or shared with other theatre companies.

What is built for INSITU does not end with INSITU.

This approach reduces waste while reinforcing a culture of shared resources within the local arts community.

For co-curators Heather Snell and Jill Hollingsworth, this is not an added layer — it is built into the process itself. By prioritizing sustainability and accessibility, they create space for volunteers to learn, contribute, and take ownership in meaningful ways.

The result is an environment where artistic production and community participation are closely connected.

Through moments of preparation, coordination, and collaboration, the images highlight the individuals who move through the space — building, organizing, and supporting each stage of the work. Their presence is often out of view during the final experience, but essential to making it possible.

In shifting attention to these moments, the focus moves from what audiences see to how the work is made.

As INSITU continues to evolve, its impact can be measured not only in performances or installations, but in the systems it models — ones that prioritize reuse, collaboration, and long-term thinking over one-time production.

Ten years on, it stands as a reminder that the strength of a cultural initiative lies not only in what it presents, but in the values it puts into practice behind the scenes.

lead photo Visitors engage with the final installations, made possible through the collective efforts of artists and volunteers behind the scenes. Photo credit: Sandborg Productions