Ground Broken for Winnipeg's Inuit Art Centre

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Glass will face the street on the first two levels, with white masonry above. (courtesy Winnipeg Art Gallery)

The Winnipeg Art Gallery broke ground for its Inuit Art Centre on May 25. The facility will be a new home for the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. Set to open in 2020, Manitoba’s 150th anniversary, the centre will connect Canada’s North and South by sharing art and stories, as well as hands-on programming for students.

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A three-storey glass vault will showcase many of the WAG’s Inuit carvings. (courtesy Winnipeg Art Gallery)

The centre includes a glass vault, state-of-the-art studios, virtual reality and more. Designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture with Manitoba’s Cibinel Architecture, the new 40,000-square-foot, four-storey centre will be connected to the main building by bridges on all levels. The $65-million project also includes exhibition spaces, a conservation facility, a two-level interactive theatre, classrooms and a new café.

Some $50 million has been committed to the centre, which is supported by all three levels of government, as well as the private sector.

The Inuit collection includes more than 13,000 carvings, drawings, prints, textiles and new media works.  

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A rendering of the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit Art Centre, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture. (courtesy Winnipeg Art Gallery)

 Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Art Gallery is opening a new exhibition, SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut, featuring little seen work of contemporary Inuit artists and craftspeople of the Labrador Inuit.

Source: Winnipeg Art Gallery