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WAG-Qaumajuq has grown into one of the country’s leading visual art museums with an international reputation! Founded in 1912, the WAG is one of Canada’s first civic art galleries, housed in an iconic modernist building in the heart of downtown Winnipeg. Opened in 2021, Qaumajuq is a contemporary architectural landmark that connects to the WAG building on all four levels.

WAG-Qaumajuq features an impressive collection of over 27,000 artworks spanning centuries, cultures, and media, including the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. We are at the forefront of promoting Manitoba and Canadian artists nationwide and abroad. Our exhibitions are supported by a diverse mix of programs, events, and partnerships.

Learning is at the heart of WAG-Qaumajuq with one of the oldest gallery-run art-making programs in the country. WAG Studio offers courses for children, teens, and youth. While you’re here, find something inspired at ShopWAG. And consider hosting your next event in one of our unique rental spaces.

 

See our 2021-2022 Annual Report
2020-2021 Annual Report
2019-2020 Annual Report
2018-2019 Annual Report
2017-2018 Annual Report
2016-2017 Annual Report
2015-2016 Annual Report
2014-2015 Annual Report

The cause of art is the cause of the people. The WAG is a product of the people and art that fill our spaces and reach out into the community.

In 2020, the Winnipeg Art Gallery was given an Ojibway name by Treaty 1 Language Keepers. Biindigin Biwaasaeyaah [pronounced BEEN- deh-gen Bi-WAH-say-yah], means “Come on in, the dawn of light is here,” a nod to the transformation of the Gallery with the opening of Qaumajuq.

Your WAG will always be known as the Winnipeg Art Gallery or WAG, but it has now been endowed with an Anishinaabemowin name.

Learn more about this name and the WAG-Qaumajuq Indigenous naming process here.

OUR VISION

WAG-Qaumajuq is a cultural advocate using art to connect, inspire, and inform.

Our Mission

Playing a dynamic role in the community, WAG-Qaumajuq is a place for learning, dialogue, and enjoyment through art.

This mission is achieved through five strategic values:

I. Art

Building, preserving, and refining the collection with an emphasis on Canadian and Indigenous art, and presenting outstanding exhibitions supported by innovative programs, events, and partnerships.

II. Learning

Engaging people with art and the creative process, WAG-Qaumajuq promotes lifelong learning and dialogue.

III. Community

Working with multiple communities, WAG-Qaumajuq nurtures relationships and develops partnerships to benefit all.

IV. Place

Providing a welcoming and vibrant social space that encourages creativity, learning, and enjoyment through arts and culture.

V. Resources

Managing resources responsibly to ensure sustainable and diversified growth.

Children sitting on the gallery floor and looking at art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq.

Our History

1912

WAG opens to the public in the Industrial Bureau Exposition Building at the corner of Main and Water St.

1933

WAG moves to Winnipeg’s newly constructed Civic Auditorium on Memorial Blvd.

1948

Women’s Auxiliary forms, later becoming the Associates of the WAG.

1953

Dr. Ferdinand Eckhardt is recruited from Vienna, Austria to become Director and goes on to oversee the creation of a new building for the WAG.

1956

The Gallery purchases its first Inuit artwork with funds raised by the Associates of the WAG.

1967

Gustavo da Roza wins international juried competition for new WAG building with modernist design.

1970

The purchase of a collection of 4,000 pieces of Inuit art for the Winnipeg Art Gallery is approved by the provincial government, collected over several decades by Jerry F. Twomey.

1971

The new WAG building is officially opened by H.R.H Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.

1972

WAG organizes the Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171 exhibition. This is the first time a public art gallery in Canada displays contemporary First Nations art.

2008

WAG announces the appointment of Dr. Stephen Borys as the Gallery’s new Director and prepares the Gallery for its centennial year in 2012.

2012

Award-winning American architect Michael Maltzan wins international juried competition to design the WAG Inuit Art Centre.

2013

WAG culminates its centennial year with 100 Masters: Only in Canada, the most successful exhibition in the Gallery’s history. 100 Masters features 100 works of art from 30 North American museums, alongside pieces from the WAG collection.

2017

The Gallery establishes an Indigenous Advisory Circle with representatives from the four regions of Inuit Nunangat, plus urban Inuit, circumpolar Inuit, First Nations, and Métis communities.

2021

The opening of Qaumajuq, the new Inuit art centre, connecting to the current building on all floors to showcase the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art.

Plan Your Visit
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. Read about some of our ongoing projects to interrupt the institution.
WAG - Winnipeg Art Gallery Outline
Winnipeg Art Gallery—Qaumajuq
300 Memorial Blvd
Winnipeg, MB
204.786.6641 // Gallery
204.789.1769 // Shop
Email Us
Tue-Thu // 11am–5pm
Fri // 11am–9pm
Sat-Sun // 11am–5pm
Closed Mondays