Winnipeg Art Gallery's Inuit Art Centre receives $1M gift from BMO
Bank of Montreal makes largest private donation to centre to date
The Winnipeg Art Gallery has received $1 million from the Bank of Montreal, the largest private donation to date for the gallery's Inuit Art Centre.
The donation from BMO will help build the centre, which will showcase Inuit art, culture and history.
- VIDEO | New Inuit Art Centre to bring the Arctic to Winnipeg
- Manitoba announces $15M for Inuit Art Centre at Winnipeg Art Gallery
- Inuit Art Centre project gets almost $1M from Winnipeg Foundation
"BMO Financial Group's generous gift helps the Winnipeg Art Gallery build more bridges between Canada's north and south," WAG director and CEO Stephen Borys said in a news release Tuesday.
With more than 13,000 pieces of art, including sculptures, prints and drawings, the WAG has the largest collection of Inuit art in the world.
Once built, the centre will house and display those works as well as offer programming and initiatives to bridge the divide between northern communities and cities in the south.
- Winnipeg Art Gallery seeks Nunavut input on Inuit Art Centre
- Nunavut's art collection heading to the Winnipeg Art Gallery
The four-level, 40,000-square-foot Inuit Art Centre building will be directly adjacent to the existing gallery building.
In addition to Inuit and indigenous galleries, it will include space for artist and curator residencies and five studios offering year-round programming.
The $60-million price tag for the centre includes construction, endowment and programming.
The Winnipeg Foundation donated $950,000 to the Inuit Art Centre in October. The provincial government committed $15 million last month.