Inuit Art Centre in Winnipeg gets federal boost

An Aug. 2 funding announcement for the Inuit Art Centre brings smiles to Terry Duguid, MP for Winnipeg South, Dr. Stephen Borys, executive director and CEO of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg South Centre MP and Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr, Fred Ford, Manitoba Inuit Association president, Dan Vandal, MP for Saint Boniface-Saint Vital. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WAG)

Caribou Antler on Walrus Base, carved by the later Cape Dorset artist Davidee Itulu, is part of the WAG’s permanent collection. The gallery holds the largest collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. (IMAGE COURTESY OF WAG)

The Winnipeg Art Gallery’s proposed Inuit Art Centre is a few million steps closer to completion after the federal government announced $15 million in additional funding for the project’s construction.

The federal natural resource minister and Winnipeg South Centre MP, Jim Carr, announced the new money on behalf of federal Heritage Minister, Melanie Joly, during a media conference held at the WAG Aug. 2.

The $15 million in funding marks the single largest contribution to the Inuit Art Centre’s estimated $65 million price tag.

“Today’s announcement affirms that we are committed to helping our cultural and creative sectors thrive. I look forward to coming back to the WAG and seeing first-hand the amazing collections that will be house in the Inuit Art Centre,” Carr said in a statement following the announcement.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery currently holds more than 13,000 pieces of Inuit art in its vaults: one of the largest single collections in the world.

And that’s not including nearly 8,000 Inuit artifacts loaned to the WAG for study and cataloguing by the Government of Nunavut last February.

The proposed Inuit Art Centre will be built adjacent to the WAG near downtown Winnipeg and a short walk from the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

WAG spokespersons say the facility promises to give more space for curators to present Inuit works, but will also hold art studios, a theatre and classrooms dedicated to Inuit history, culture and art in partnership with Inuit.

“The centre is a game-changing initiative that will see Inuit art and stories celebrated and shared with Canada and the world,” said WAG director Stephen Borys on the new federal funding.

“The generous support of the federal government confirms the national importance of the Inuit Art Centre’s mission and the enduing power and beauty of Inuit art and culture in today’s society.”

The federal funding follows an earlier announcement in May by the City of Winnipeg to contribute $5 million to the Inuit Art Centre over the next five years.

Private donations for the project stand at about $15 million, or half of the WAG’s $30 million objective.

Manitoba’s former NDP government promised to contribute another $15 million to the project, but that funding was dashed when the Progressive Conservatives won the provincial election in April.

The new PC government has not weighed in publicly on funding for the facility, but Borys says the dialogue with Manitoba’s new government continues.

“We’re in almost daily dialogue with them on this project. They’re well aware of it, and I expect a very positive outcome very soon,” Borys told media at the funding announcement conference Aug. 2.

The Inuit Art Centre has faced several delays since its announcement in 2010, but the WAG confirms the goal is begin construction on the facility by 2017.

The projected completion date is scheduled for sometime in 2019.