Winnipeg Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is a public art gallery
that was founded in 1912. It is Western Canada
's oldest civic gallery and the 6th largest in the country. The WAG is located in the heart of the city of Winnipeg
, just two blocks from Manitoba
's Provincial Legislature
and roughly the same distance from the University of Winnipeg
.
The WAG's permanent collection includes almost 24,000 works, with a particular emphasis on Manitoba and Canadian
art. The collection ranges from 16th century Flemish
tapestries to 21st century videos, and includes the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art
. Historical, contemporary, photographic, decorative art, and Inuit
works are featured in a variety of exhibitions each year, with each of the ten gallery spaces changing approximately every three months.
Winnipeg Art Gallery is internationally respected, exhibitions having been shown in New York, Caracas
, Bogotá
, Barcelona
, Tokyo, Thessaloniki
, and Verona
.
The Clara Lander Library on the gallery mezzanine supports the research needs of staff, members, art students, artists, and the public. Over 9,000 artist biography files (mainly Canadian) and more than 24,000 books are maintained in the library, as well as subscriptions to hundreds of arts journals and bulletins. The library is for on-site use only.
Tours, lectures and other adult and family programs are regularly available. Unique in the country is a dedicated Studio Building where art classes are conducted. The curriculum includes instruction by artists in almost all media, including clay, cartooning, watercolours and photography.
The gallery moved to its present location in 1971, into a building designed by architect Gustavo Da Roza. With a prominent location near the Legislative Buildings and Portage Avenue, the gallery's building has become a downtown Winnipeg
landmark. Along with the galleries, the main building houses a gift shop, a restaurant, a rooftop garden, meeting and lecture rooms, and a 325-seat theatre auditorium.
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
that was founded in 1912. It is Western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's oldest civic gallery and the 6th largest in the country. The WAG is located in the heart of the city of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, just two blocks from Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
's Provincial Legislature
Manitoba Legislative Building
The Manitoba Legislative Building is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, in central Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, not Legislative. The neoclassical building was completed in 1920 and stands seventy-seven meters tall...
and roughly the same distance from the University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
art. The collection ranges from 16th century Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
tapestries to 21st century videos, and includes the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art
Inuit art
Inuit art refers to artwork produced by Inuit people, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive outside Alaska...
. Historical, contemporary, photographic, decorative art, and Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
works are featured in a variety of exhibitions each year, with each of the ten gallery spaces changing approximately every three months.
Winnipeg Art Gallery is internationally respected, exhibitions having been shown in New York, Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Tokyo, Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, and Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
.
The Clara Lander Library on the gallery mezzanine supports the research needs of staff, members, art students, artists, and the public. Over 9,000 artist biography files (mainly Canadian) and more than 24,000 books are maintained in the library, as well as subscriptions to hundreds of arts journals and bulletins. The library is for on-site use only.
The gallery moved to its present location in 1971, into a building designed by architect Gustavo Da Roza. With a prominent location near the Legislative Buildings and Portage Avenue, the gallery's building has become a downtown Winnipeg
Downtown Winnipeg
Downtown Winnipeg is centred around Portage Avenue and Main Street, and is bounded by the Assiniboine River on the south, Colony and Balmoral Streets on the west, Notre Dame Avenue, Princess Street, and Logan Avenue on the north, and the Red River on the east. It includes the Exchange District,...
landmark. Along with the galleries, the main building houses a gift shop, a restaurant, a rooftop garden, meeting and lecture rooms, and a 325-seat theatre auditorium.