Past Exhibitions

Embodied knowledge is a type of understanding where the body knows how to act – like breathing or riding a bike. It is somewhat difficult to write about. It is rooted in feelings and processes that happen in relation to others and in relation to the world. It emerges out of lived experience. It is learned and shared through actions and practices. Transmissions is an exhibition exploring the emerging and passing on of knowledge through embodied processes.

To Play in the Face of Certain Defeat is a celebration of diversity and an urgent call to action around issues of racial marginalization. Artist Esmaa Mohamoud explores the ways in which Black bodies at once appear—and yet are rendered metaphorically invisible—within the spaces they navigate.

Schools and communities are invited to learn about contemporary art and artists from the four regions of Nunangat, the Inuit homeland in Canada. Viewers will leave the experience with a greater understanding of our land and its people. And the best part is…we are bringing art to you!

The sketches, drawings, studies, repeated images, and unfinished works of Ivan Eyre allow us a glimpse into the artist’s process. Produced with a freer hand, using economical, malleable materials like paper, board, ink pens, graphite, and coloured pencils, drawing allowed for what Eyre described as “fewer distractions” for ideas to emerge.

During summer months, the WAG’s Rooftop Sculpture Garden is open for all to enjoy! A striking selection of 20th and 21st century bronze, steel, and stone sculptures by Canadian and European artists will keep you company.

At first glance, landscape paintings tend to conduct themselves as transparent historical documents, showing us a clear image of the environments upon which our contemporary lives were built. This exhibition explores the landscapes of western Canada through the aestheticized lenses of Walter J. Phillips and a selection of his contemporaries.

In many communities and nations, Indigenous cultural practices have been pushed underground by colonizing forces. Kakiniit Hivonighijotaa: Inuit Embodied Practices and Meanings highlights the strength and resilience of Inuit culture in the face of intense suppression.

Kwaata-nihtaawakihk – A Hard Birth will prompt you to reflect on the Métis nation’s role in Manitoba’s creation and consider the significance of the events of 1869-70 in relation to our current times.

The first impressions of the enormous works in Wanda Koop’s View from Here are starkness and intensity. The evocative paintings feature prominent landscapes composed within the bald outline of a face, erasing the comfortable familiarity we have with both landscape and portrait.

Cliff Eyland: Library of Babel – A Retrospective celebrates the life and work of the late Canadian artist, curator, writer and educator, Cliff Eyland. The exhibition mixes more than one thousand of Eyland’s signature 3×5″ paintings and drawings with videos, photographs, digital prints, and selected archival documents to explore his ambitious forty-year career.

This sculptural installation by contemporary Canadian ceramicist, Greg Payce is an exciting new acquisition to the WAG’s permanent collection generously gifted to the Gallery by the artist.

This year marks the Winnipeg School Division’s 150 anniversary celebration and 86 years of partnership between the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Winnipeg School Division.

This exhibition pairs a selection of Ivan Eyre drawings and paintings from the APC Collection with paintings, prints, and drawings by Dalla Husband from the WAG Collection to explore the techniques and influence of Surrealism on the creative practices of both artists.

Walter J. Phillips lived and worked in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1913 – 1940. This exhibition celebrates Phillips’ depiction of the province during this period by featuring a selection of his paintings, prints, and drawings referencing Manitoban related subject matter – particularly landscape imagery, and botanical foliage.

The first Winnipeg Indigenous Triennial looks at water and our changing environment from an Indigenous perspective and with an international scope.

Inuit fashion designers are becoming increasingly popular and in demand – and to celebrate the next generation of Inuit designers, this exhibition will look at fashionable accessories and jewellery from generations past.

Now on view at Museum of Vancouver, British Columbia until October 2022.