$1 MILLION +
Government of Canada
Government of Manitoba
The Paul Albrechtsen Foundation
The Winnipeg Foundation
Stories help us make sense of the world. They’re essential to how we relate to one another and our environment; how we teach and learn; how we innovate and progress as a society.
This is why the Manitoba Museum is so important to our province. The Museum has been telling Manitoba’s stories to Manitobans and visitors for generations. Indeed, parents often share stories with their kids about their own first encounter with the Museum’s bison diorama, or about their first breath-taking glimpse of the Nonsuch ship. The joy of discovery and learning endures. The pride for “our museum” is palpable. Our Museum informs us, as Manitobans, and tells our essential stories that bridge language, culture, ethnicity and age.
The Manitoba Museum has now embarked on a major gallery renewal project, entitled Bringing our Stories Forward, which includes a visionary investment from our community that will transform one of our province’s most vital cultural institutions.
Meet Our Committee
Bringing our Stories Forward is part of a longer-term, 3-step project for renewal that dovetails with our Vision to “shape Manitoba’s future by expanding knowledge, sharing stories and encouraging discovery.” Informed by what we learned through community consultation, our Capital Renewal Vision has been mapped out into 3 steps. Each step builds on its predecessor, raising the level of engagement and excitement. Each step generates revenue to help fund the next step and, just as important, keeps our doors open to the public throughout this transformation.
Alloway Hall reopened on time and on budget in spring of 2017, during Canada’s 150th anniversary. The expansion doubled the space to 9,700 square feet. Alloway Hall’s more generous proportions enables us to host larger travelling exhibits that drive up attendance and increases revenue for programs and rentals. This $5.3 million project was fully funded by the generosity of the federal and provincial governments, and The Winnipeg Foundation.
Bringing Our Stories Forward Gallery Renewal Project will update 42% of our Museum Galleries and will have special emphasis on updating stories related to Indigenous peoples and new waves of immigration to Manitoba. It will see the addition of a new Winnipeg Gallery as well as the addition of interactive digital media and increased interactive exhibits to enhance the visitor experience and encourage new and repeat visitation. In June of 2018 the first of the galleries, the Nonsuch Gallery, reopened to great acclaim, and the Winnipeg Gallery is scheduled to open in fall of 2019. The Grasslands and Orientation Galleries will open in 2020, as the Manitoba Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary and the province of Manitoba celebrates 150.
The Capital Renewal Vision concludes with the construction of a new, stand-alone Science Centre — advancing a culture of innovation and creativity!
The Vision includes the creation of a Community Commons, a reconstruction that orients the entrance towards Main Street. New education facilities will also be enhanced. Conservation labs will be installed, and additional collections storage space allocated.
The stories we tell at the Manitoba Museum build a rich narrative, layer upon layer. They generate mounting excitement and a hunger to experience more. When a great story is finished, the human impulse is to share it…and re-experience it.
Help us share Manitoba’s stories with the world!
To pledge a gift now and pay in installments over time, contact Heather Laser.
Help us share Manitoba’s stories with the world!
The Manitoba Museum is grateful to its many partners and donors in this vital renewal project, including the Government of Canada, Government of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, The Winnipeg Foundation and many generous Manitobans.
December 13 2019
October 31 2019
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October 12 2018