My Daily Art

Fifty years apart they both wore blue. Half a century ago it was Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret to open the new Winnipeg Art Gallery. Last week it was Inuk Elder Martha Peet to light the qulliq at the naming ceremony for the Inuit Art Centre. A lot has happened in those fifty years. A lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same.

But last week it was about change: a new name for the centre. Qaumajuq means “It is bright, it is lit.” With change comes light and hope. Joining the Elder was Julia Lafreniere, who oversees Indigenous initiatives at the WAG. Joining the Princess were other champions of Inuit art: Director Ferdinand Eckhardt (far right), his wife Sonia (peeking around Board Chair John Bulman), past Board chair John MacAulay (with crossed arms) and artist Ivan Eyre in a classic leisure suit.

And waiting to greet the Princess was a group kids decked out in hockey shirts and plaid pants. It’s the kids who will visit again that give me hope. Last week Winnipeg was in the national spotlight for some new records – not the kind we wanted. But we were also in the news sharing some hope – and some art in a visible vault like nowhere else in the world.

While the WAG is temporarily closed, your collection is still here for you. Stay connected with the art through daily posts from our Director & CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys.

This is a series of daily posts that will continue until the Gallery reopens. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit our stories section.

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