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Construction Update

Thank you for creating Canada’s Inuit Art Centre! Welcoming spaces for you are being created right now. We expect construction of the building to be complete in late summer, and to begin the installation of INUA, the inaugural exhibition, then.

Taking a peek inside the Centre reveals incredible progress being made on all levels!

A full-force crew is preparing the gallery walls to be art ready. The elevator installation has begun, the stair railings are framed and roughed in, and the work on the main- floor washroom is underway. All signs the WAG Inuit Art Centre is coming closer to opening its doors.

The structural steel of the three-story visible vault is in, and the shelving system started, with support tracks for the aluminum vertical pieces that go in between the steel frame being installed. The glass shelves will be the last to go in. When the Centre opens, an online platform will connect you to the vault and the stories of the artworks, artists and their regions.

The circular staircase inside the three-story visible vault has been installed. This staircase will be visible from outside the vault and is for curators working inside, giving you behind-the-scenes views of exhibition preparations.

Also on the main floor, the kitchen of the new cafe is complete, and the rest of the cafe walls are going up. Sparrow Hotels is partnering with us to serve delicious and nourishing food at the new café and as the WAG caterer. With its welcoming indoor space and outdoor patio, the café will provide a year-round gathering place for people to come together and experience local cuisine in an art-infused environment.

Looking overhead you can see the roof is almost finished. The sky lights have been tested for air and moisture, and have passed! Currently, the electricians are running wires for the soon-to-be-installed light fixtures.

The creative spaces for the studios, art classes, carving spaces and artists residencies on the fourth floor of the existing WAG building are taking shape, with electricians running wires to make way for future classes and workshops.

The Gallery Shop is almost ready to re-open. When the outside hoarding comes down in the spring, the wall of glass along Memorial Blvd will be revealed and you’ll have a glimpse of the WAG’s new transparency. Stay tuned for the opening of the Gallery Shop in early summer.

Thank you for building the Inuit Art Centre!

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WAG-Qaumajuq recognizes that land acknowledgements are part of an ongoing dialogue with Indigenous Nations, and we are grateful to live and work on these lands and waters. Institutionally, WAG-Qaumajuq is committed to acknowledging our colonial history and we are actively working to interrogate the Gallery’s colonial ways of being.

WAG-Qaumajuq is LEED certified.

WAG - Winnipeg Art Gallery Outline
Winnipeg Art Gallery—Qaumajuq
300 Memorial Blvd
Winnipeg, MB
204.786.6641 // Gallery
204.789.1769 // Shop
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