WAG Inuit Art Centre project gets $5M boost from City of Winnipeg

The City of Winnipeg is putting up $5 million to support the creation of the Winnipeg Art Gallery's (WAG) Inuit Art Centre.

Mayor Brian Bowman announced the funding, which will be provided as $1 million per year over the next five years, during a news conference on Friday.

"I'm committed to helping make Winnipeg an internationally recognized leader in Indigenous arts and culture," Bowman said.

"Indigenous arts and culture constitute a large part of our collective heritage as Winnipeggers and that makes Winnipeg the logical place to celebrate it. The Inuit Art Centre will play an integral role in promoting Indigenous Arts and Culture and I'm proud to be a part of that."

More than half of the $60-million price tag for the centre — which includes construction, endowment and programming — has already been raised.

The four-level, 40,000-square-foot facility centre will be built adjacent to the WAG, at the corner of Memorial Boulevard and St. Mary Avenue. It will include Inuit and Indigenous art galleries, studio and learning spaces, and artist-in-residence and curator-in-residence spaces.

• Inuit artifacts to be put on display in Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Winnipeg Art Gallery seeks Nunavut input on Inuit Art Centre

The WAG holds in trust the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art, which encompasses more than 13,000 pieces, including more than 7,400 Inuit sculptures, 4,000 prints, and 1,800 drawings, as well as hundreds of artifacts, ceramics, and textiles.

"The City's generous commitment comes at a pivotal time for the WAG and will ensure the Inuit Art Centre will be built," said Stephen Borys, CEO of the gallery.

"It bolsters the WAG's commitment to showcase Indigenous art and curatorial practices, bringing you a new museum that truly reflects our community."