The Winnipeg Foundation will make a grant of $950,000 to the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) for its Inuit Art Centre.

Earmarked for programming as well as capital costs, the grant also celebrates the Foundation’s 95th anniversary, coming up next year.

It is one of the twelve largest grants ever made by the Foundation, and was announced today by Board Chair Susan Millican at a gathering of Foundation donors at the WAG.

“We’re thrilled to be part of this exciting opportunity to celebrate Inuit and Indigenous art and let everyone experience the rich culture and traditions of the North,” said Millican. “We feel it’s an important project for our community and its future.”

Grant money will be drawn from the Foundation’s community building funds, which support a wide variety of local projects.

The Foundation has supported WAG since 1961, when it first began making grants to cultural organizations. Recently, the Foundation has contributed to a number of WAG projects, including the current Olympus exhibit.

“The Winnipeg Art Gallery is grateful to the Winnipeg Foundation for their financial support of the Inuit Art Centre,” comments Dr. Stephen Borys, WAG Director & CEO.

“This gift puts us one step closer to the creation of an innovative programming hub that celebrates Inuit art and Indigenous cultures through exhibitions, research, education, and art making, while also showcasing the WAG’s significant collection of contemporary Inuit art,” Borys said.

“The IAC will change the city of Winnipeg, and, more importantly, the relationship with the North.”

Other major community grants from The Winnipeg Foundation have supported the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Manitoba Children’s Museum, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, Friends of Upper Fort Garry, St. Amant Centre and FortWhyte Alive, in addition to Foundation signature projects.

Photos by Noah Erenberg

The Winnipeg Foundation, Canada’s first community foundation, was established in 1921. Built by people from all walks of life, the Foundation pools and invests gifts entrusted to it in order to generate grants that benefit a variety of local charitable needs.