North West Company makes ‘pivotal’ $2M donation to WAG’s Inuit Art Centre campaign

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This article was published 12/06/2019 (2368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is one donation closer to covering the $65-million price tag of its Inuit Art Centre.

On Wednesday, the North West Company announced a $2-million gift to the project, which is under construction at the corner of Memorial Boulevard and St. Mary Avenue.

“It’s a pivotal contribution at a critical time in the campaign,” WAG director and chief executive officer Stephen Borys said Wednesday.

The federal government, Manitoba government and the City of Winnipeg have donated a combined $35 million to the centre. The remaining $30 million is coming from a community fundraising campaign. With The North West Company contribution, the campaign is now less than $10 million away from its goal.

“We hope to reach that goal in the next few months,” Borys said. “The North West Company gift will also impact upon other gifts and other donors, given the significance and the profile of the company.”

The donation will support the construction of an outdoor plaza around the entire footprint of the centre. The plaza will be open to the public and include a seating area and two or three large Inuit carving installations. It will also have views of the artwork inside the centre, thanks to the large windows planned for the main floor of the building.

The plaza was part of the original design of the centre, but Borys said the gallery will now be able to “improve upon this and create something truly spectacular in the design.”

The North West Company operates retail and grocery stores under the banners of Northern Stores, NorthMart and Giant Tiger, among others in many remote communities in northern Canadian.

“We’re the biggest employer in the private sector in the North, and if we don’t support the project, who will?” said company board chair Sanford Riley.

Construction is expected to be completed by next summer, and the centre will open later in the year, Borys said.

The four-storey centre will have 40,000 square feet of exhibition, research, classroom and studio space, as well as a glass art vault installed through the centre of the structure.

“We appreciate the importance of Inuit art to the North,” Riley said. “It’s not just an artform, it’s a part of the culture, a part of the economy of the North. We also believe that there has to be a place that (the Inuit) feel comfortable in the south.”

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney