A rendering of the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit Art Centre Expansion (in progress). Courtesy Michael Maltzan Architecture and Cibinel Architecture Ltd.
Our editors’ weekly roundup of Canadian art news.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery announced that they have secured $15 million in funding from the federal government’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for the construction for the Inuit Art Centre. Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr made the announcement on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly. Slated to break ground in 2017, the Inuit Art Centre will be a 40,000-square foot, four-storey building attached to the current gallery.
Vancouver artist Jeff Wall has changed his representation to Gagosian Gallery after 25 years with Marian Goodman Gallery. According to Mark Francis, a director at Gagosian, the change comes as Wall “would like to be seen more widely as an American artist.” It is as yet unclear how this might impact the occasional availability of works by Wall on the Canadian market.
Prominent Vancouver art collector Bob Rennie faced controversy this week. Rennie, who built his fortune in real estate development, was accused of having advance, insider knowledge of a the government’s plan to institute a real-estate tax on foreign buyers. The accusations are based on a paraphrased quote in a Globe and Mail story, where Rennie suggests he had knowledge of a tax three weeks ahead of the surprise move. Rennie has since released a statement that, “I did not have or was given any advance knowledge on the foreign buyer tax.”
Calgary’s arts-and-culture pass program, which allows low-income families access to shows and cultural institutions, will be expanding. The program’s sponsor, Sun Life Financial, and a range of cultural organizations have partnered to invest $1 million in the pass. The program is organized in libraries throughout Calgary, where families are able to pick up tickets.
