The WAG was on my list to visit for years. I finally made it happen by driving the long drive from the US. Was it worth it? Oh, yeah! I geek out on Inuit sculpture and this museum has a treasure trove. The lobby of the modern white addition to this museum has a multi-story wavy glass vitrine filled with Inuit pieces. It's a delicious appetizer so I eagerly went up the stairway and into a massive gallery with rows of Inuit pieces, I felt like I was 5 years old and wanted to jump up and down. Every piece is beautifully displayed and illuminated in a white-walled room that, despite having no windows, is perfectly lighted. Art appreciation is so much easier and pleasant in a room like this. This 'Art by Inuit' exhibition is a survey from approximately 200 BCE to present day. It includes typical hunting and domestic scenes of which Inuit art is most well known. There are also many works that explore the human psyche. For me, this is the humble and sincere strength of Inuit art that can grab the viewer. The small exhibition titled 'Gasoline Rainbows' features the work of Tarralik Duffy. Her leather gas cans find the sculptural beauty in the everyday world. Her Spam-container-looking leather sculpture called 'Klik' is a biting reminder of how western foods replaced the traditional foods of these northern communities. There's more to the WAG in their ultra-cool Brutalist building. A surprising gallery of European Old Masters is one of the better small collections in Canada. Another gallery has Impressionist and mid-20th century paintings. (The harsh lighting in these galleries could use the magic touch from the Inuit galleries.) A cavernous exhibition featuring the meticulous works of Tim Gardner, an artist who I'm embarrassed to say that I'd never heard of, blew me away. That one person could churn out so many detailed paintings and watercolors seems impossible. His works include portraits, images of liquor bottles, hyper-realistic paintings copied from amateur photos, and images of Los Angeles so engaging that I felt as he had entered my mind and tagged along on bike rides through my old neighborhoods. The WAG is a joy, both architecturally and in the art on display. For dessert, the gift shop can't be missed. Several Canadian art museums do something that is more rare in the States: feature and sell compelling works by local and regional artists. This isn't the books, mass-produced art/souvenirs, and t-shirts often for sale in other museums. There is genuine one-of-a-kind art and shelves of superior quality artisan-created crafts for sale. It's like a little museum in itself. I happily walked out with an Inuit sculpture that could have been included in the exhibition upstairs. read more

See all

When I was here, the galleries were full of flower arrangements inspired by the artworks they were presented with. I've never seen anything like it in a museum before and it was an interesting idea. I happened to show up during the opening for this event, so the gallery was pretty lively. While there are wall cards giving background on the curatorial direction and on individual pieces, I found they assumed a familiarity with Manitoba's history that I lacked. It was refreshing to see so many pieces of art by artists I'm unfamiliar with and to leave with a long list of things to look up later. It inspired me to pick up some books after my visit. That said, they also have a small, thoughtful selection of the sort of stuff you expect to see in an art museum in North America. So if you want to see representations of the standard European and Canadian art movements and pieces by familiar names, you'll find those, too. read more

See all

The art here is fantastic. The programming was very good. I was so glad to have been in Winnipeg when it was open. The sales staff could not have been more helpful in getting my purchases back home to the Seattle area read more

My friends who just celebrated their 25th anniversary were married at the WAG so I love that weddings are still being held here. After living in other cities and coming home, I also really appreciate the unique architecture that is so distinctly "Winnipeg". The gallery itself is lovely for showcasing art. It has a nice media area to display cinematic presentations (I remember watching the Cannes commercial festivals here). There are amazing jazz concerts to check out too. read more

Well, I can't comment on the art here because I didn't get a chance to look around but it is a gorgeous venue to put on a wedding. I was here for a wedding recently, that was catered by Storm (exclusive caterer of the WAG amongst other places). The ceremony was held on the rooftop next to the WAG's restaurant. The rooftop is nothing special - considering that it's used for such special occasions, you'd think they'd incorporate some interesting plants or flowers. The view isn't super nice either as you face the Investor's Group Building and the Bay. So it's an average area for a ceremony unless you're willing to put in more decorative items. Otherwise, it feels kinda bare. The Ferdinand Eckardt Hall straight in from the main entrance is a really unique and pretty venue for a reception. The space features tyndall stone floors and walls, a 21-foot cathedral ceiling and a visual art display. It fits 200 people nicely and feels quite intimate despite the scale of the space. It's also really nice that the gallery allows guests to wander around until 11 pm. It's nice to be able to get away from the party for a bit and see the collections. read more

I visited the WAG at the end of September to check out the European Renaissance and Baroque art exhibit. The gallery itself seemed pretty dead, and there wasn't a whole lot to see. Some of the exhibits were not open to the public yet, so I guess we picked a bad time to go. There was a lot of Canadian art, of course. The gift shop is pretty great, I love all the artsy post-cards you can buy, and the book selection was decent as well. The sculpture garden on the roof is cool, not just for the sculptures, but just to hang out and enjoy the sun! Admission is $10! read more

We visited the Sculptures from the Berlin gallery exhibit - very well done. Animations set at kids' level so I kinked myself into short stature for these delightful stories. Beautifully curated and the WAG volunteers were knowledgeable and helpful. Some great Group of Seven works were in another section- an opportunity to introduce the family to ancient Roman art and Canadiana. The WAG mounts really significant shows so if you happen to be in the vicinity, really, it is worth while to check out this gallery. read more

Very nice art museum. Has some very strange pieces in it it is very interesting with a large variety

This afternoon I decided to take in the blockbuster "100 Masters" exhibit of 100 paintings in celebration of the Winnipeg Art Gallery's 100th anniversary. Granted, it's a tremendous exhibit, but be warned: admission is pricy -- $20 for a senior (only $2 off the full price)! The WAG occupies a very handsome modern building on Memorial Blvd. a bit south of Portage Avenue (and just across the street from the Bay). The main exhibit space is on the third floor and it's almost entirely taken up by this special exhibit. Virtually all the paintings come from museums across Canada, including some works from the WAG's own collection and a few from the museums in Minneapolis. Brought together in an exhibit like this one, it's obvious that there are some very fine paintings in Canada, but in real life, of course, they're spread out somewhat thinly in museums across the country. The exhibit covers periods from the Golden Age of the 1600s to the present day. The masterworks from the earlier periods are European, of course, as Canada was barely settled in those days. The highlight is probably the remarkable Rembrandt depiction of "A Woman at her Toilet" (also knows as "Heroine from the Old Testament") from the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Beautifully cleaned and restored, the subject of the painting is bathed in brilliant light, while the rest of the scene is shadowed in obscurity, really highlighting the rich robes the subject is wearing (perhaps a Jewish wedding coat?) while being attended by her maid. The eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are well represented by fine works from European and British masters of the period, including a few showing bewigged and powdered gentlemen who figured prominently in Canada's colonial history. The later nineteenth century features some very good works by Canadians who trained at the academies in London and Paris. A number of impressionist works represent the later decades of the 19th century. A particularly beautiful piece is one of Monet's series of depictions of London's Waterloo Bridge at various times of the day. The one on display seems to have been painted in the afternoon, with a gleaming light and beautiful coloring. A highlight of the exhibit is the generous selection of works by the Group of Seven painters from the 1920s and 30s. This group of Canadian painters brought a unique sensibility to their portrayals of Canada's spectacular landscapes, with strong colors and forms a bit reminiscent of Art Deco but also looking backward more than a bit to the more sensuous lines of Art Nouveau and Jugendstil. There are also a number of paintings by Canada's premier West Coast artist Emily Carr, who was active during some of the same period. An unusual addition to the exhibit is a small selection of paintings depicting Canada's participation in World War I. Done by fine artists recruited to document the conflict, these paintings don't glorify war. Rather they suggest the weariness and fatigue of the troops after the war had dragged on to a stalemate for so many years, the ravages of war on the physical landscape, and the somewhat aimless attitudes of some general field staff waiting for their formal portraits to be painted. The exhibit continues into the latter half of the 20th Century and the early years of the current one with works in various styles ranging from abstraction to realism, to I'm-not-sure-what! Again, many of these works are both interesting and arrestingly beautiful. The bottom line, then, is that in spite of the steepish admission price, this show is very much worth seeing for its overview of the variety in Canadian collections and the possibly surprising depth and quality of Canada's own painters and artistic movements. As the Michelin Guide would say, this exhibition is worth the trip! read more

Had a seasons pass one year, great exhibits, new stuff regularly.

I think there are a lot of things to see here .... very interesting. A lot of space to walk around even though there were thousands of people coming and out during an free art festival. read more