WINNIPEG.- Today, Honourable Cathy Cox, Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage, announced the government of Manitoba’s contribution of $10 million for the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit Art Centre.

The initiative now has support from all three levels of government as well as private sector funding, underscoring the value of the Inuit Art Centre for the province and country. The Centre will be home to the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art on earth, the Centre will have significant economic, social, and cultural return for Manitobans and Canadians, now and in the future. The Centre will create jobs and training opportunities, and boost tourism and economic investment, while enhancing education and cultural understanding.

QUICK FACTS:

· Total funding of $10 million over five years from the government of Manitoba’s Department of Sport, Culture and Heritage.

· The new 40,000 square foot, four-storey Inuit Art Centre will connect on all levels to the current Gallery building, an iconic modernist design.

· The $65 million ($50 million committed) initiative will include the creation of exhibition spaces; a glass enclosed visible art vault; a conservation facility; art studios; a two-level interactive theatre; classrooms; and more.

· The Centre will offer ongoing education in Inuit history, culture, and art, in partnership with Inuit.

· Ground breaking is pending for a 2020 completion, Manitoba’s 150th birthday.

· With over 13,000 carvings, drawings, prints, textiles, and new media, the WAG holds in trust the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. The collection is supported by an unparalleled record of Inuit art exhibitions, publications, and research.

· Established in 1912, the WAG is Canada’s oldest civic art gallery.

As Manitoba and Canada seek meaningful reconciliation, the Inuit Centre offers a path to dialogue and understanding between Canada’s North and South, and indeed across the country and beyond. It will be a platform for Inuit who use art as a voice and language to celebrate their stories with the world. The WAG is grateful to the government of Manitoba for stepping forward to champion this initiative that will further highlight the province as an international cultural destination. -Dr. Stephen Borys, Director & CEO, Winnipeg Art Gallery

The Manitoba government is excited to be a partner in this project that will house the world’s largest collection of Inuit art and create an innovative programming hub down the street from our Legislative Building that will surely improve our province’s cultural infrastructure, promote tourism and generate economic development. In order to continue to attract national and international visitors, we know our cultural institutions must be innovative and world class. –Cathy Cox, Minister of Sport, Culture & Heritage, Province of Manitoba