The Alloways’ Gift and Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy Commemorate The Winnipeg Foundation’s Centennial Anniversary

New WAG exhibitions present perspectives on the development of community in Winnipeg

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 Territory, April 20, 2021: The Winnipeg Art Gallery and The Winnipeg Foundation are excited to announce two shows commemorating The Foundation’s Centennial Anniversary. Opening on the first day of The Foundation’s second century, The Alloways’ Gift and Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy run from April 27, 2021 to fall 2021.

When The Winnipeg Foundation’s CEO Rick Frost approached WAG Director & CEO Stephen Borys about organizing an exhibition to mark the anniversary and honour The Foundation’s founding donors, William and Elizabeth Alloway, the idea for The Alloways’ Gift came to life, presenting a series of archival photographs, rare artifacts, and paintings. Borys then took it further by proposing a second exhibition with an Indigenous response to the Alloways’ legacy, an idea that The Foundation fully embraced and made possible.

The result is Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy, in which contemporary Métis artist Rosalie Favell uses a variety of sources to construct a complex self-portrait through the lens of her family lineage in the Red River Valley, which dates back to before the 1700s. Included are commissioned works that experiment with lenticular photography – enabling you to view two images at once, demonstrating two realities.

Thanks to the generous support of The Winnipeg Foundation, youth under 18 and all Indigenous Peoples can visit the shows for free as part of Qaumajuq365, the Inuit art centre’s inaugural year. Programming for the next Canada Life Free Sundays@WAG will explore themes from these two exhibitions. Join us Sunday, May 9, by reserving a free ticket here.

About The Alloways’ Gift:

• William and Elizabeth Alloway are the architects of the Canadian community foundation movement. Their gift to create The Winnipeg Foundation in 1921 launched a new way of philanthropic giving that has generated millions of dollars in support of countless charitable causes.
• This exhibition illustrates the astonishing amount of development the Alloways would have witnessed while living in Winnipeg: from the advancement of railway lines and the building of roads and streetcar tracks, to the rapid expansion of the residential and commercial sectors, and the arrival of thousands of newcomers to the region.
• The story of Winnipeg’s history and the Alloways’ impact is told through the art of local artists and unique artifacts drawn from the collections of the WAG, The Winnipeg Foundation archives, the Oseredok’s Ivan Bobersky Collection, the Manitoba Archives, the Manitoba Museum, and the City of Winnipeg Archives.
• The show’s settler perspective has inspired a second exhibition recognizing the Indigenous Peoples who have lived and flourished here for thousands of years.

About Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy:

• Rosalie Favell was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and is now based in Ottawa, Ontario. The award-winning artist’s work is held in collections across Canada and around the world. Over the course of her long career, Favell has been featured in exhibitions in Canada, the US, and internationally.
• In Family Legacy, Favell pieces together the intersecting histories of the city of Winnipeg and the Indigenous peoples of the Red River settlement.
• Artworks were commissioned especially for this show and are exhibited along with a selection of the artist’s paintings and photo-based work.
• Favell uses a variety of sources – from family albums to pictures from popular culture – to construct a complex self-portrait of her experiences as a contemporary Indigenous woman.
• On their surfaces, the images seem familiar, comforting, even nostalgic, but slight alterations made by the artist in the form of additions, subtractions, and recontextualizations reveal a profound entanglement of questions simmering just beneath.
• Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy is a meditation on the nuances of asserting identity, belonging, experience, and representation.

Quotes: 

“This pair of exhibitions is an example of reconciliation in action, speaking loudly to the respective visions of the WAG and The Winnipeg Foundation, and the incredible legacy of Rick Frost. I hope the multifaceted perspectives give Winnipeggers a moment to appreciate the amazing community we have here — that’s so much more because of the dedication of The Foundation and their supporters. Congratulations to The Winnipeg Foundation on 100 years of community building and thank you for your valued partnership. Our deep appreciation and congratulations also go to Rosalie Favell for sharing your work in such a compelling way.”

— Dr. Stephen Borys, Director & CEO, Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq

“The Winnipeg Foundation’s Centennial presents an opportunity to reflect on the past and make plans for the future. The Alloways were civic optimists and community builders; by creating The Winnipeg Foundation, they demonstrated that we achieve more when we work together. We must also recognize some of the more troubling aspects of the society in which The Foundation was created; by doing so, we can work together to build an equitable future for all. Thank you to the WAG for helping tell these important stories, and to the generations of donors who have supported our community through The Winnipeg Foundation.”

— Richard Frost; Chief Executive Officer, The Winnipeg Foundation

“My work is a celebration of family, illuminating our experience and history of living on this land. My heart is always here and like my family before me I continue our legacy.”

— Rosalie Favell; Artist

“I think many Winnipeggers will have great fun attempting to identify the streets, buildings, and places depicted in the archival photographs included in The Alloways’ Gift! A few of these places have also found their way into the new series of work created by Rosalie Favell for Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy. It has been an absolute privilege to work with Favell – one of Canada’s most beloved contemporary artists and I am grateful to The Winnipeg Foundation for supporting this opportunity.”

— Riva Symko; Head of Collections & Exhibitions and curator of the exhibitions

Support

Both The Alloways’ Gift and Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy are presented by The Winnipeg Foundation.

Associated Links
Winnipeg Art Gallery – The Alloways’ Gift
Winnipeg Art Gallery – Rosalie Favell’s Family Legacy
The Winnipeg Foundation

Stay Connected

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram #atwag #qaumajuq365 #TWF100

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For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Amy Rebecca Harrison
Engagement Supervisor
Winnipeg Art Gallery
204.789.1347
aharrison@wag.ca 

LuAnn Lovlin, CFRE
Director, Communications & Marketing
The Winnipeg Foundation
204.781.9336
llovlin@wpgfdn.org

The Winnipeg Art Gallery (the WAG) is a cultural advocate using art to connect, inspire, and inform. Playing a dynamic role in the community, we are a place for learning, dialogue, and enjoyment through art. Opened in March 2021, Qaumajuq connects to the WAG on all levels, celebrating the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. The new WAG-Qaumajuq cultural campus is now one of the largest art museums in Canada. To learn more visit wag.ca.

The Winnipeg Foundation is For Good. Forever. We help people give back to our shared community by connecting generous donors with Causes they care about For Good. We are an endowment-based public foundation, so gifts are pooled and invested, and the annual earnings are distributed back to the community Forever. Formed in 1921, we are proud to be the first community foundation in Canada.

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