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My Daily Art

The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1971. Gustavo da Roza, architect.

The architectural competition for the new WAG attracted 109 entrants from around the world.

The jury selected Gustavo da Roza, a young Portuguese-Canadian architect and professor at the University of Manitoba, describing his design as one that “brilliantly and sensitively satisfies the requirements of the programme . . . expressing with dignity and monumentality the objectives of the gallery.”

In his own statement, Da Roza wrote: “The form of the building points north . . . This affords the individual an opportunity to associate and participate with the aspirations of our cultural development in Winnipeg.”

For the cladding, the architect chose Tyndall stone, a limestone quarried at nearby Garson, Manitoba. The stone entrance door pivots open and is still used for special occasions – the first time was September 25, 1971 when H.R.H Princess Margaret opened the new 145,000 square foot building.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1971. Gustavo da Roza, architect.

While the WAG is temporarily closed, this series of posts from Director & CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys, shares an artwork from the collection every day until the Gallery reopens. Follow along on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter, or visit our stories section for this and more WAG@Home content.

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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.

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